Description:

Peary Robert

Robert Peary signed and inscribed North Pole note, celebrating the 2nd anniversary of his discovery

 

Single page note signed, 6" x 6.25." Boldly signed diagonally by Robert Peary in graphite as "R.E. Peary," with the celebratory statement of "90 N. Lat. 4/6 '09" and "2nd Anniversary of Discovery of Pole." Additional notes in another hand below identifying the provenance as having been written for "m.a. stevens on his visit to Brooklyn to lecture before the Bklynn institute apr 6, 1911."

 

At the turn of the century, explorers regarded the North Pole as the last prize in the Northern Hemisphere. The quest for the Pole turned into an international race with teams from Britain, Norway and America vying for the distinction of reaching it first. Robert Peary, a Commander in the U.S. Navy, made his first attempt to reach the Pole in 1893. Two more expeditions followed (1898-1902 and 1905-1906). Both fell short of the mark, but the efforts propelled Peary to the distinction of America's foremost Arctic explorer. The expedition of 1908-09 was to be his last try. On September 5, 1909 Peary emerged from the Arctic wilderness and announced to the world that he had reached the North Pole on April 6. Finding the North Pole is tricky. Unlike the South Pole, which lies on a land mass, the North Pole is actually in a vast sea covered by floating ice. Since the ice is constantly in motion, planting a flag or otherwise marking the spot is futile. In addition, magnetic compasses are rendered useless in the polar regions due to the magnetic field at the poles. Determining one’s position, then, is based on calculations using a chronometer – basically a highly efficient time piece – and a sextant – a navigational instrument that allowed an explorer to compute latitude based on the position of the sun.

 

His controversial discovery has remained somewhat of a continued source of debate, however this outstanding piece written entirely in the hand of Peary, was written on the 2nd Anniversary of his discovery. Provenance below the note indicating it was presented to Stevens upon his visit to Brooklyn.


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