Image of the Month

The Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin led his last expedition in search of the Northwest Passage in 1847. Unfortunately, the ships became ice-bound and their crews perished but Franklin's fame as an explorer - and the large reward offered by the Admiralty - meant that there were many expeditions mounted to try and establish his fate. This sketch, drawn by George F. McDougall, comes from a facsimile copy of The Illustrated Arctic News, a newspaper produced on board HMS Resolute when it was looking for traces of the Franklin expedition, as a way of keeping the men entertained during the long winter.