Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922)
THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922)

A square of hessian cloth, stamped 'E SHACKLETON' (upper left), approx. 25in. (63.5cm.) square

Details
Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922)
A square of hessian cloth, stamped 'E SHACKLETON' (upper left), approx. 25in. (63.5cm.) square
[With:] A box containing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle of Lady Shackleton with Cecily and Raymond (only twenty-five of the forty-five pieces included), the lid of the box inscribed 'Lady Shackleton/45 pieces', together with a box of Shackleton family personal memorabilia including a cigarette holder, a cloth school badge, a silk clasp with initials 'CJS' and other miscellaneous items. (11)
Provenance
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) and Cecily Jane Swinford Shackleton, and thence by descent; The Shackleton Collection, Christie's, 25 Sept. 2001, lot 370 (where acquired by the present owner).

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Lot Essay

Hessian, or jute, was one of the key industries in Dundee and James Caird, the main sponsor of the Endurance expedition, was one of the most famous Dundee jute barons. The retention of the present piece of hessian canvas by Shackleton indicates a sentimental importance to him, suggesting that it may be a relic from one of his expeditions, possibly Endurance. Shackleton and his men carried with them on the Endurance expedition a bolt of canvas which they used to fit out the James Caird before the epic boat journey to South Georgia, as Shackleton relates in South, '[The carpenter] had not sufficient wood to provide a deck, but by using the sledge-runners and box-lids he made a framework extending from the forecasle aft to a well. It was a patched-up affair, but it provided a base for a canvas covering. We had a bolt of canvas frozen stiff, and this material had to be cut and then thawed out over the blubber-stove, foot by foot, in order that it might be sewn into the form of a cover. ... As events proved, the covering served its purpose well. We certainly could not have lived through the voyage without it.'

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