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Ernest Shackleton

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Ernest Shackleton

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Auction Date:2012 Aug 15 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Shackleton (1874–1922), a junior officer in Scott’s National Antarctic Expedition of 1901–02, nearly reached the South Pole during an expedition of his own in 1909, in the process becoming a national hero. In 1915, during another expedition, his ship, Endurance, was crushed in the polar ice, and he and five others made a perilous journey of 1300 miles to bring relief for the crew. Knighted in 1909, Shackleton died at South Georgia during a fourth expedition in 1922. ALS, three pages on two adjoining sheets, 4 x 6, Marlborough Club letterhead, October 16, 1917. Letter to Sir Albert Stanley. In full: “I have asked Mr. Chance to see you regarding some information he has about nitrate of potash deposits in Peru. I told Mr. Chance that in the course of my work I would look into this matter as it may be an opportunity for getting this made with British hands: Mr. Chance is connected with allied industries which have some arrangement with our Government. I herewith introduce Mr. K. Chance.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope, addressed by Shackleton, “The Right Hon Sir Albert Stanley M.P., President Board of Trade, Whitehall Gardens,” which was personally delivered to Stanley by Chance.

Shackleton had returned to England in May 1917 following the conclusion of his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Despite being too old for conscription and suffering a heart condition, Shackleton volunteered for the army and repeatedly asked to be sent to the front in France. Instead, he was sent to Buenos Aires to drum up support for Britain in South America, departing just one day after writing this letter. Here, he writes to Sir Albert Stanley, a member of Parliament and president of the Board of Trade, regarding Kenneth Chance, an innovator in potash production, and potash deposits in Peru. Shackleton’s diplomatic mission to South America was largely unsuccessful and failed to persuade neutral Argentina and Chile to enter the war on the side of the Allies.