Rare and Historic Group of Reigart Artifacts from the Greely Arctic Relief Expedition.... (Total: 3 Items)

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Rare and Historic Group of Reigart Artifacts from the Greely Arctic Relief Expedition. Very heavy piece of wood, 2" X 4 1/2" X 1 1/2" with attached ink script paper lable, somewhat darkened with age, "Piece of the Keel of the Arctic Vessel the Bear of the Greely Relief Expedition to the North Pole The keel was crushed by ice of the North Pole 22 June 1884". A beautifully turned 4 1/4" wooden spire, 1" diameter at the base with an ink script paper lable affixed to the bottom, "The Thetis". Exquisitely made, 4 1/2" long, two piece, wooden needle case, with an attached ink script lable, "Arctic Vessel "The Thetis" of the Greely Relief Expedition". Also rolled up inside the case is an ink script lable "Arctic Vessel Thetis". A tragic chapter in American Naval history, by the time the relief expedition, composed of the ships Bear, Thetis and Alert, arrived to rescue Greely's party, only 6 of the original 25 man crew remained alive. Although an heroic effort, the legacy of the ill fated expedition included innuendos of cannibalism by the six survivors. The items in Reigart's group represent the largest group of Greely relief expedition artifacts we are aware of extant.