Lot Essay
Bear was built in 1883 for the ten day long sealing season, and was designed for work amid Arctic ice fields. From 1885 to 1927, Bear served as a U.S. Revenue Marine cutter in Alaska, where she looked out for illicit seal poaching, shipwrecked whalers and also served as a floating courthouse. After servfing briefly as a floating museum, Bear starred as the sealer Macedonia in the 1930 film version of Jack London's Sea Wolf. She then whet on two more Antarctic expeditions in 1932 and 1938, followed by service in the Northeast Atlantic Patrol from 1941 to 1944. After being laid up in Halifax due to too costly refitting, Bear foundered about 250 miles east of New York while serving as a floating restaurant in 1963.