Robert A. Bartlett
various, ca. 1923-1938
Fantastic Archive of Polar Explorer Robert A. Barlett, Including Thirteen Signatures
Archive

ROBERT A. BARTLETT, Archive, 1923-1938. 12 photographs, 3" x 4" to 8" x 10" + 3 pp., 6" x 9.5" to 7.25" x 10.5".

This small archive of materials related to the remarkable career of polar explorer Robert A. Bartlett features 1 unsigned and 11 signed photographs of Bartlett, his ships, and polar landscapes and seascapes. The archive also includes two autograph letters signed by Bartlett related to his explorations in the 1930s.

Excerpts
Robert A. Bartlett, ALS, to ?Mr. James,? November 9, [1932 (added in pencil)], New York, NY:
?I love the little Morrissey and am glad when the time rolls round for me to set sail again. I could like nothing better than sail forever and ever, never to come ashore. It?s awful hard trying to manage things on shore & go round a lot too, but somehow am never at ease. life is so full of trials more so than ever. It?s a terrible thing to be disillusioned. But there it is. Wish you and your family health and happiness and a safe port at the end.?

Robert A. Bartlett, ALS, to Mr. [recipient stricken], November 19, [no year, but on ?Capt. Robert A. Barlett Greenland Expedition of 1938? letterhead], n.p.:
?I am going to try hard to get to the dinner in the Fountain Room. I think I shall iron out things so that I?ll get there. More power to you. The sleds down in the rough ground, and the endless days and nights you have been weeding now is bearing fruit.?

[Typed Caption:]
?Navy Plans Aerial Expedition to North Pole
?Washington?..Above is pictured Captain Robert A. Bartlett, who has been named by the Navy Department to assume charge of the proposed aerial expedition to the North Pole regions. Plans are now being completed, the project having received the endorsement of President Coolidge. Capt. Bartlett was a member of the Peary Polar party, commanding the relief ship ?Roosevelt? which is likely to be used by the Navy Department in the forthcoming expedition, which will start early in the spring.
?12-4-23?

Robert A. Bartlett (1875-1946) was born in Newfoundland and mastered his first ship at the age of 17. He spent more than fifty years mapping and exploring the waters of the Far North and led more than forty expeditions to the Arctic, more than anyone before or since. He served as captain of the SS Roosevelt that accompanied Commander Robert Peary in his attempts to reach the North Pole. The National Geographic Society awarded Bartlett the Hubbard Medal for breaking the trail through the frozen Arctic Sea to within 150 miles of the pole. In 1914, his leadership in the Karluk Expedition saved the lives of most of its stranged crew. After several months, Bartlett and an Inuit hunter walked 700 miles over the ice and Siberia, then mounted a rescue expedition from Alaska to rescue his surviving companions. In 1917, he rescued the survivors of Donald Baxter MacMillan?s expedition who had been stuck on the ice for four years. From 1925 to 1945, he commanded the schooner Effie M. Morrissey on many important scientific expeditions into the Arctic. He died of pneumonia in a New York City hospital.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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