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Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922)
Details
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922)
Autograph letter signed ('E.H. Shackleton') to Mrs Caroline Oates, Quest, 'Off the Coast of Brazil, "Rolling down to Rio"', 19 November 1921, on paper with printed heading 'Quest R.Y.S.', one page, 4to (torn through vertically, not affecting legibility; separate minor losses), with an envelope, readdressed in Lady Shackleton's hand (torn through).
PROVENANCE:
Mrs Caroline Oates.
Lady Shackleton, and thence by descent.
Shackleton writes to the mother of Captain Oates. The letter thanks Mrs Oates for her good wishes on the voyage: 'the ship as usual is rolling heavily ... We are all looking forward to the more strenuous part of our work. We have had a bit of trouble with the engines and bad winds but that is nothing'.
Caroline Oates, described by Oates at his death as 'the only woman I have ever loved', was distinguished by her determined investigation into the causes of the disaster of Scott's Last Expedition. It is not known when she befriended the Shackletons, but the relationship was evidently warm; after the explorer's death she helped to pay the Shackleton children's school fees. Shackleton's complaints about the Quest's seaworthiness are a theme of the first stages of the expedition: Shackleton had bought the vessel, a wooden sealer of 125 tons, on a brief visit to Norway at the beginning of the year; she was designed for Arctic travel, but was less suited to long sea-voyages, and needed repairs at each port of call.
Autograph letter signed ('E.H. Shackleton') to Mrs Caroline Oates, Quest, 'Off the Coast of Brazil, "Rolling down to Rio"', 19 November 1921, on paper with printed heading 'Quest R.Y.S.', one page, 4to (torn through vertically, not affecting legibility; separate minor losses), with an envelope, readdressed in Lady Shackleton's hand (torn through).
PROVENANCE:
Mrs Caroline Oates.
Lady Shackleton, and thence by descent.
Shackleton writes to the mother of Captain Oates. The letter thanks Mrs Oates for her good wishes on the voyage: 'the ship as usual is rolling heavily ... We are all looking forward to the more strenuous part of our work. We have had a bit of trouble with the engines and bad winds but that is nothing'.
Caroline Oates, described by Oates at his death as 'the only woman I have ever loved', was distinguished by her determined investigation into the causes of the disaster of Scott's Last Expedition. It is not known when she befriended the Shackletons, but the relationship was evidently warm; after the explorer's death she helped to pay the Shackleton children's school fees. Shackleton's complaints about the Quest's seaworthiness are a theme of the first stages of the expedition: Shackleton had bought the vessel, a wooden sealer of 125 tons, on a brief visit to Norway at the beginning of the year; she was designed for Arctic travel, but was less suited to long sea-voyages, and needed repairs at each port of call.
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