August 29-30, 2018 Fine Art, Asian & Antiques
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/30/2018
The round silver medal showing a three mast ship with the sails rolled and anchored to the ice, a group of men, dogs and dog sleds depicting the abandonment of the ship and the saving of some of its supplies. The reverse has an outer band reading "Jeannette Arctic Expedition 1879-1882" below this at the top center is engraved "To Charles Tong Sing". The bottom half "In Commemoration of Perils Encountered and as an Expression of the High Esteem in which Congress Holds His Services. Act Approved Sept. 30. 1890." The top bar and ribbon are missing but medal still retains the clasp that would have held it. Note: This medal was produced for either the survivors or the next of kin of those who had perished in the expedition. Eight gold and 25 silver medals were struck by the Philadelphia Mint and were probably designed by Charles E. Barber or George Morgan, chief engravers to the mint. The story of the expedition was recounted in an 1882 book "Arctic Lost Ship Shipwreck Jeannette". The account of the expedition and its survivors caught the attention of the American public and caused Congress to act with this medal. The crew consisted of 30 officers and men with three civilians. It departed from San Francisco July 8, 1879. Shortly after September 4, it was caught fast in the ice pack near Wrangel's Island. For the next 21 months, it drifted to the Northwest towards the North Pole, steadfast in the ice. On June 12, 1881 the pressure of the ice finally began to crush the Jeannette. It was at that time that provisions were unloaded and the ship sank the following morning. Three boats took off in hope of reaching the mainland. A storm blew up and one of the boats with eight men capsized and sank. The remaining two boats with 25 men continued on their harrowing, almost 2-year adventure, finally eight survivors found native hunters in Northern Siberia. They were then guided to the Russian settlement, Bulun, where they procured good sleds and used reindeer in the place of dogs until they reached the Siberian Railroad where they eventually made their way to St. Petersburg, then to London and onto New York where they arrived in the spring of 1883. Two of these survivors went insane as a result of this experience and shot themselves. The surviving six men became quite the celebrities and much was written about their exploits in their day. The recipient, Charles Tong Sing, was a Chinese-American and had served as Captain's Steward on the ill fated expedition. He proved to be one of the strongest of the surviving men as noted in a 1902 Los Angeles Herald newspaper article which should be read along with articles included in provenance. There are some rim nicks and some toning on verso at top edge.
Condition: (Very Good - Excellent).
Item Dimensions: 1 - 1/2" Dia.