Cheyne’s Relics

By Logan Zachary.  October 8, 2020.

Thank yous:   
Jeremy Michell   
Russell Potter   
Kenn Harper   
Jacqui Grainger   
& Alison Freebairn   

* * *   

This is an attempt at listing all the Franklin relics in Cheyne's 1859 stereoscopic slides, including linking them to their modern records at Greenwich museum. 

The two previous attempts at a guide for the Cheyne relics (starting with Cheyne's own) wrote out paragraph lists of relics.  Then one had to squint and hunt through the cases, to know a gimblet from a stanchion, or a snoodling line from a smudge of flannel.

To resolve this, I have drawn maps for the relic display cases.



The other issue is identifying where these relics are today, a century and a half later.  As of commencing this project in Spring 2020, only a few relics on Greenwich's site indicate whether they appear in Cheyne's slides (9, out of at least 124).  Franklin researcher Garth Walpole first attempted to use Greenwich's modern photography to make a complete Cheyne listing, in Chapter 5 of his book Relics of the Franklin Expedition.  Walpole died before completing his book (it was posthumously published with the help of Russell Potter).

What follows is my own attempt at Cheyne's relics.  What I couldn't figure out, I have left blinking white on the relic maps for others to work on (in general: silverware, books, & buttons).

New recommendations I'm making:

     Updates to Walpole's Cheyne list:  41.
        • [listed throughout]

     Updates to Cheyne’s booklet:  9.
        • Blue spectacles and tin case are in #5.
        • "Telescopes" in #7 to "Telescope glass."
        • "Flannel" in #7 to "Flannel cartridge."
        • Pocket flask is in #6  (Walpole caught this before me).
        • Marine shako is in #6  (not listed in all Cheyne editions).
        • Relic not identified in #10A.
        • Unknown/Rocks on the Dip circle in #1.
        • Bug in #5 (link).
        • Identifying the three relics in #14.

     Suggestions for Greenwich’s relic catalogue:  8.
        • Sledge AAE0203.9 from unknown to Franklin-McClintock (link).
        • Canvas AAA2245 from Schwatka relic to Boat Place/McClintock.
        • Cylinder AAA2354 from unknown to McClintock.
        • Wool AAA2267 from Beechey to Boat Place/McClintock.
        • Scissors AAA2216 associate with Government Paper.
                (Walpole made the same suggestion.)
        • Cap AAA2332 from Schwatka relic to Boat Place/McClintock.
        • Chronometer AAA2202 from HMS Erebus to HMS Terror.
        • Chronometer AAA2203 from HMS Terror to HMS Erebus.
                (These last two added May 13, 2021.)

I shared this list with Jeremy Michell, Curator for Polar Relics at Greenwich.  He had been working on the same project, and was able to add four impressive identifications that I had missed in Case #4 (in addition to a number of interesting notes credited to him throughout).

This list refers to “the Kelly Catalogue,” an invaluable resource that RUSI Librarian Jacqui Grainger directed me to.  For more information, see the Appendix.

Throughout the list, click on the AAA- number to be taken to Greenwich’s relic page.

 – L.Z.  October 8, 2020.



* * *  


THE LIST:  CHEYNE’S RELICS

Cheyne #1A – Courtesy of the Kenn Harper Collection
Cheyne #1B – Greenwich NMM

Cheyne #1  (Shotguns)

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found in the Boat with the two Skeletons.”

Two double barrel guns  AAA2531, AAA2612
Cheyne:  Two double barrel guns, one barrel in each is loaded, they were found in the after part of the boat, standing muzzle upwards, and close against one of the skeletons.
 • Walpole missed the 2nd catalogue entry (AAA2612).

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found at Ross Cairn, Point Victory.”

Medicine chest  AAA2224
Cheyne:  A medicine chest, containing 25 small bottles, canister of pills, ointment, plaster, oiled silk, &c.

Osmer brass circle  (presumably missing)
Cheyne:  A circular brass plate, broken out of a wooden gun case, and engraved C. H. Osmer, R.N.

Telescope tube  AAA2227.2
Cheyne:  The field glass, and german-silver top of a 2 foot telescope
Walpole didn’t list this, but Greenwich's site knew it was here.

Hornby Sextant  AAA2230  (stolen)
• Cheyne: A 6 inch double frame sextant, on which the owner’s name is engraved, Frederick Hornby, R.N.
 • LZ notes:  Stolen from Greenwich in 1982.  Short of being melted down, this must still exist, with the name still on it.  Perhaps the current owner has reached a point in life where they'd consider returning it to the museum; it's been almost 40 years.  It would be very helpful to have it for study during the excavations of Erebus & Terror.

Dip circle by Robinson  AAA2223
Cheyne:  A 6 inch dip circle, by Robinson, marked I. 22
 • LZ notes:  The Dip circle here has what appears to be a bubble-level on top that is missing from the relic today.  I've been unable to find it.

Unknown 
 • LZ notes:  There is something like small white rocks on top of the base of the Dip circle.  At a fuzzy distance they appear to be light reflections; close inspection using the GIF animation shows them to be three-dimensional objects.  I don't see these mentioned in any other source.  Rock samples certainly returned with McClintock.  An appendix of his book says rock samples were sent to the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, which has since been folded into the National Museum of Ireland.  If these are indeed rocks, it's possible that is where they are today.


Box for dip circle  AAA2376
Cheyne:  Box for dipping needle.
 • LZ notes:  Parts from inside this box are strewn across the table.  I've been able to identify two with certainty.

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found at Northern Cairn, near Cape Felix.”

Stove  AAA2127.1
Cheyne:  A small apparatus for cooking
 • LZ notes:  The stove door (AAA2127.2) may be just to the right.  It is slightly lifted off the table in back, possibly caused by the door handle.  I'm just shy of being certain here.

Brimstone matches  AAA2142
Cheyne:  A few brimstone matches
Kelly Catalogue:  A bundle of common brimstone matches.
 • Walpole wrote AAA2147, an elm board.
 • LZ notes:  Visible in front of the stove in #1B.  I believe in #1A they are actually inside the Stove; the info card there is just faintly readable, and appears to say MATCHES.  This may be clearer in some other set of Cheynes.  [For further information on alternate Cheyne slides (link).]

Tea canister  AAA2131
• LZ notes:  The back of this canister is broken open and bent outwards, resulting here in the illusion of a 2nd large relic to its right.  Greenwich's modern relic photography hides this damage, however, it is visible and distinct in Illustrated Times (15 Oct 1859 p.253 sketch item #5), and The London Journal (1859 p.272, sketch item #18).




Cheyne #2  (Ensign)

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found at Northern Cairn, near Cape Felix.”

Flag/Ensign  AAA2128
Cheyne:  Fragments of a boat’s ensign, the only British flag recovered from the expedition.
 • RUSI info card:  Ensign found extreme N:W.: of King Williams Island.
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Fragment of a boat's ensign or flag. (Found in a bag on King William's  Island.)
 • LZ notes:  I don't know the origin of the Kelly Catalogue's "found in a bag" detail.  It's not in Hobson's report or McClintock's book; indeed, Hobson says he found the ensign in a small tent.  Interestingly, however, the Illustrated London News actually has a sketch of that relic: "Bag in which flag was found" (Oct 15 1859 p.367).






Cheyne #3  (Peglar)

LZ notes:  There is a large unidentified object outside the case, behind it.  It may just be a prop for the case (it also appears as a sliver behind Case #4), however some relics were displayed outside the cases.

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found lying about the Skeletons, 9 miles east of Cape Herschel.”  (i.e. “Peglar”)

Neckerchief  AAA2116
 • Cheyne:  The tie of a black silk neckerchief
 • Kelly Catalogue:  The tie of a black silk stock
 • RUSI info card:  Tie of black silk stock found close to Skeleton, 9 miles E. of Cape Herschel.

Coat fragment  AAA2117
 • Cheyne:  fragments of a double-breasted blue cloth waistcoat, with covered silk buttons and edged with braid
 • RUSI info card:  Part of a cloth waistcoat Found close to the Skeleton with other Relics in this case Marked thus +
 • LZ notes:  McClintock refers to this as a coat in the main narrative, then as a waistcoat in the relics list appendix.

Shirt  AAA2119
 • Cheyne:  a scrap of a coloured cotton shirt
 • RUSI info card:  Piece(?) of a Shirt (printed calico)

Buttons, great coat  AAA2118
 • Cheyne:  silk covered buttons of blue cloth great coat
 • Walpole mistyped as AAA2119 (the Shirt above).

Brush  AAA2113
 • Cheyne:  a small clothes brush

Pocket comb  AAA2115
 • Cheyne:  a horn pocket-comb

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found on the east side of Montreal Island.”

Meat tin  AAA2089
 • Walpole: (not listed)
 • McClintock:  Part of a preserved meat tin, painted red

Copper sheet fragments  AAA2088  –.5, –.6

Barrel hoop fragments  AAA2087  –.1, –.2, –.3

Iron hook-bolt  (missing)
 • LZ notes:  I don’t see this at Greenwich’s site.

Unidentified piece of metal  (missing)
 • LZ notes:  Not sure how to categorize that last piece, or where it is at Greenwich.  A few likely candidates don’t seem quite right in size or shape.

Cheyne on the Montreal Island relics:
“Part of the rim of some strong copper case,
a piece of iron hoop,
two pieces of flat iron,
an iron hook bolt, and
a piece of sheet copper.”

McClintock on the Montreal Island relics:
“Part of a preserved-meat tin, painted red ;
part of the rim of some strong copper case or vessel ;
pieces of iron hoop,
two pieces of flat iron,
an iron hook-bolt,
a piece of sheet copper.”

RUSI info card on the Montreal Island relics:
"Rim of a Copper Case.
Piece of Iron Hoop.
Piece of Flat Iron.
Piece of Sheet Copper.
Iron Hook Bolt.
from Montreal Island"






Cheyne #4  (Books)

LZ notes:  There is a sliver showing of a large unidentified object outside the case, behind it.  It may merely be a vertical prop for the case, although some relics were displayed outside the cases.  It appears in much greater detail behind Case #3.

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found in the Boat.”
[Relics listed by ordering the case from left to right, top row to bottom row. – LZ]

Cover of a Testament
 • LZ notes:  Unidentified.  My assumption is that the "Cover of a Testament" info card that is one relic down (and on a piece of paper, certainly not a "cover") in fact belongs to this relic.

Vicar of Wakefield  AAA2154
 • Cheyne:  Vicar of Wakefield

Cover of "Family Prayers"
 • Cheyne:  cover of a small book of Family Prayers
 • RUSI info card:  Cover of "Family Prayers"
 • Walpole listed AAA2153, but that relic is in Case #5, lower right corner.

Unidentified and unlabeled

New Testament

Christian Melodies  AAA2193
 • Cheyne:  Christian Melodies, an inscription within the cover to “G.G.” (Graham Gore?)
 • LZ notes:  I had surmised that the paper to the left might be the removed flyleaf with Graham Gore's initials, given that that relic's label, "Cover of a Testament," is clearly inaccurate, and likely refers to the relic above it.  Jeremy Michell had proved this: as he points out, the exact missing sections of the paper in the Cheyne relic are a match for the modern photography of the flyleaf at Greenwich.

French Testament  AAA2211
 • Cheyne:  a New Testament in French
 • LZ notes:  I had only identified the labeled piece here.  Jeremy Michell discovered that the piece on the left, despite appearing as dark as a leather cover, is in fact the blackened front pages of the French Testament – and that a comparison with the modern photo at Greenwich shows an unmistakable match in the stain patterns.
This relic still retains its RUSI exhibition info card at Greenwich today – nailed right into the same Chapter XXV of the Acts of the Apostles.  This is one of three surviving info cards (see AAA2212 & AAA2111) that come from the original 1859 McClintock relics exhibition at the RUSI Museum.

New Testament

Bible  AAA2210
 • Cheyne:  a small Bible, interlined in many places, and with numerous references within the margin.
 • RUSI info cards:  Bible / Scotch Bible
 • LZ notes:  There are two books marked as Bibles in Cheyne’s Slide #4.  They are on the far right side of the case; the one above is marked Bible, the one below seems to be marked Scotch Bible.  Despite the two separate labels, I believe these are the same book.  The size and the notches for the seam stitches are a strong match.  Moreover they have a mirrored diagonal stain in their upper halves.

The size and the particular seam notch locations suggest these two Bible halves to be Bible AAA2210 at Greenwich.  By McClintock's account, only one Bible was recovered, not two.  The photography of that Greenwich Bible shows notations written in the text, which would be consistent with Cheyne’s description in this case of one “small Bible, interlined in many places.”  AAA2210 also has a somewhat similar diagonal marking in the upper half of its pages; however, Jeremy Michell points out that this is more crease shadowing than staining.

Prayer Book Cover

Testament  AAA2152
 • RUSI info card:  Cover of a Testament
 • LZ notes:  Despite the info card identifying this as merely a cover, Jeremy Michell matched this Cheyne relic to the mangled papers of Greenwich's AAA2152.  He points out that some pieces seem to have broken off; enough survives, however, to identify this definitively as AAA2152.

Prayer Book  AAA2212
 • LZ notes:  I had misidentified AAA2212 until Jeremy Michell pointed out the correct relic in the case; he also notes that here the original 1859 relics exhibition card survives as well (see AAA2111 and AAA2211 for the others).






Cheyne #5  (Bead Purse)

LZ notes:  This list is ordered not by Cheyne's list but by the Kelly Catalogue's, which is superior as it moves across the case from right to left instead of at random.

Cheyne's booklet heading:  “Found in the Boat.”

Bead purse  AAA2181

Pocket compass  AAA2208
 • Cheyne:  a small brass pocket compass
 • Walpole mistyped this as AAA2008 (Official boat badge of HMS Gambia).
 • LZ notes:  The compass cap is missing from the current record.  It may be AAA2332.

Testament cover  AAA2153
 • RUSI info card:  Prayer Book Cover
 • Walpole put AAA2153 incorrectly in Case #4, and here in Case #5 he listed AAA2152 – but that is book pages, not a book cover.
 • LZ notes:  The physical characteristics of the spine and especially the tearing in the cover allow this to be confidently identified as AAA2153.  The spine in Greenwich’s photograph reads, "Common Prayer."  It’s possible another book cover is underneath AAA2153 in Cheyne’s photo.

Spectacle lenses  AAA2178
 • Cheyne:  two spectacle glasses

Blue spectacles in tin case  AAA2195, AAA2195.1
 • Cheyne:  (not listed)
 • Walpole:  (not listed)
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A tin case with spectacles.
 • RUSI info card:  Tin Case with Spectacles (green - glasses)
 • McClintock:  A pair of blue glass spectacles or goggles with steel frame, and wire gauze encircling the glasses, in a tin case.
 • LZ notes:  The RUSI info card here seems to have started a long tradition of listing these glasses as green not blue in color.  It's possible an off-white color of the case beneath caused the blue to appear as green.  I've seen them listed as green as far forward as 1913.

Scissors  (my guess and Walpole's:  AAA2216)
Government paper  AAA2155
 • Cheyne:  A small pair of scissors rolled up in blank paper, and to which adheres a printed government paper, such as an officer’s warrant or appointment.
 • LZ notes:  The rolled blank paper and the government paper are today fused as one.  In fact it's interesting that Cheyne (and McClintock) made a distinction that has been lost in Greenwich's modern record:  this relic is not all "government paper," rather it is government paper attached to blank paper.  Also, a hair was found inside the paper by Greenwich curators; Russell Potter speculated (8 Jun 2018) that the scissors were for cutting hair.  Scissors AAA2216 have a decorative multicolored fabric remnant on the handle which may be just visible in silhouette in the Cheyne stereogram (and, which further suggests a finer use such as haircutting).

Soap  AAA2162
 • Cheyne:  a piece of scented soap
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A piece of white scented soap
 • LZ notes:  I believe most of the shape we are seeing here is wrapping paper, hence the relatively small bits of soap seen in the modern Greenwich record.

Fishing/Snooding line  AAA2165
 • Cheyne:  a snooding line rolled up on a piece of leather
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A snoodle line reeled on leather

Grass cigar case  AAA2156
 • Cheyne:  part of a grass cigar case

Awl  AAA2217
 • RUSI info card:  Cobblers Awl

Clasp knife  AAA2177
 • Cheyne:  a seaman’s clasp knife
 • RUSI info card:  Sailors Clasp Knife

Snow goggles, leather & wire gauze  AAA2163
 • Cheyne:  a pair of goggles, made of stout leather and wire gauze instead of glass
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A pair of goggles of stout leather, and wire gauze instead of glass (“Goggles” are a species of spectacles like railway spectacles, to protect the eyes in the snow.)
 • LZ notes:  I love that the Kelly Catalogue had to define what goggles are for their readers.  And put it in scare quotes.

Shot charger  AAA2145
 • Cheyne:  a brass charger for holding two charges of shot
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A brass shot-case or brass charger, for holding two charges of shot.

Spring hooks, for a sword belt  AAA2171, AAA2172
 • Cheyne:  spring hooks of sword belt
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Two brass hooks and strap.  A brass hook.
 • RUSI info card:  Part of a Sword Sling

Forceps  AAA2179
 • Cheyne:  a pair of silver forceps
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A forceps; such as naturalists use for holding or seizing small insects.

Freemason seal  AAA2197
 • Cheyne:  a glass seal, with symbol of freemasonry
 • RUSI info card:  Glass Masonic Seal

Gold cap band  AAA2173
 • Cheyne:  a gold-lace band
 • RUSI info card:  Regulation Lace
 • LZ notes:  Not to be confused with the famous gold cap band given to Rae by In-nook-poo-zhee-jook, AAA2082.

Gold twist cord  AAA2174
 • Cheyne:  a piece of thin gold twist or cord
 • RUSI info card:  Gold Cord

Pipe stem  AAA2176
 • Cheyne:  part of a cherry-stick pipe stem
 • RUSI info card:  Pipe Stem (Cherry Tree)

Gimlet  AAA2218
 • Cheyne:  a gimblet
 • LZ notes:  AAA2219 is the other gimlet, but doesn't resemble the Cheyne relic as much as AAA2218 seems to.

W.R. knife  AAA2207
 • Cheyne:  two table knives, with white handles, one is marked W.R.
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Table knives found tied together, one marked “W.R.”
 • McClintock:  Two table knives with white handles—one is marked "W.R." (ward room).

Knife  AAA2201
 • Cheyne:  two table knives, with white handles, one is marked W.R.
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Table knives found tied together, one marked “W.R.”
 • LZ notes:  The Kelly Catalogue has a unique detail:  that the knives were found tied together.  Possibly related to this, there is something on top of the longer knife at the hilt guard, which is today not there in Greenwich's photo.  It could be the remnants of the tie.

Pencil case  AAA2204
 • Cheyne:  a German-silver pencil-case

Flask stopper  AAA2183
 • Cheyne:  German-silver stopper of a pocket flask

Vesta matchbox  AAA2184
 • Cheyne:  a brass match box
 • Walpole had this as AAA2186, which isn't this brass matchbox – nor is it the Tin matchbox below (it's far too large to be).

Tin cylinder  AAA2354
 • Cheyne:  a small tin cylinder, probably made to hold lucifer matches
 • RUSI info card:  Tin Cylinder containing Shot
 • Walpole incorrectly had this as AAA2184 Vesta matchbox (above).
 • LZ notes:  Greenwich had listed AAA2354 as, "Unprovananced relic of Sir John Franklin's last expedition 1845-48."  I sent a letter on October 5th, 2020 suggesting that this be changed to a McClintock relic, photographed in Cheyne #5; that change has been accepted by Greenwich.

Bottles  AAA2205, AAA2206
 • Cheyne:  two small glass stoppered bottles (full)
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Two small glass stoppered medicine bottles (full).

Canvas  AAA2245
 • Walpole misidentified this as AAA2144, the same identification he gave (correctly) to the piece of canvas in Case #7.
 • LZ notes:  Greenwich had listed AAA2245 as, "A fragment of sail canvas found at Northern Cairn, Cape Felix on 3 July 1879 by the Schwatka Search Expedition 1878-79."  I sent a letter on August 6th, 2020 suggesting that this be changed to a McClintock relic, in Cheyne #5; that change from Schwatka to McClintock has been accepted by Greenwich.

Wax, sealing  AAA2182

Bug
 • Missed by Cheyne – at least while he was taking the photos.
 • LZ notes:  See article (link).






Cheyne #6  (Sewing Kit)

Cheyne's booklet heading:  "Found in the Boat."

A clay-bowl pipe  AAA2262.8
 • Walpole listed this as AAA2268 potato lid.
 • LZ notes:  While there are many Franklin clay pipe fragments, this particular pipe has a small chip on one side of the bowl's upper lip – distinctly visible in the Cheyne photograph at high resolution.

Ball of worsted  AAA2161
 • Walpole incorrectly listed this as Glove AAA2126 from Cheyne #7.
 • LZ notes:  Worsted is a type of wool associated with the village of Worstead in Norwich.  I initially thought this might be Greenwich's (supposed) 'Beechey Island' ball of wool (AAA2267), however the physical characteristics are a much better match for the ball of wool contained inside the Sewing kit (AAA2161) – which is right next to the ball of worsted in this display case.  Like the thimble inside the Sewing kit, this ball of wool does not currently have its own AAA number/decimal designation.

Leather boot-lace  AAA2209

Spindle  AAA2221
 • Cheyne:  two pieces of copper
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Two pieces of copper
 • McClintock:  two small copper spindles, probably for dog-vanes of boats  (But these found at Ross’s  Cairn not the Boat Place. – LZ)
 • Walpole noted the Spindle AAA2221 in this case – but didn't connect it with Cheyne's copper entry.
 • LZ notes:  Why are both Cheyne and the Kelly Catalogue citing two pieces of copper?  Greenwich states that Spindle AAA2221 is copper.  Greenwich also holds a 2nd McClintock spindle (AAA2231), which is also copper.  One explanation here is that the 2nd copper spindle may be hiding from us behind the drawer's edge:  out of our view, but not Cheyne’s.  Another possibility is that an alternate exposure of Cheyne #6 may show us the 2nd copper spindle (see article on Cheyne alternates).

Sewing kit (Sailor’s Housewife)  AAA2161
 • Cheyne:  two cases of needles and thread
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Two housewives – cases of needles and thread
 • McClintock:  a needle and thread case
 • Walpole incorrectly listed this as AAA2132–34, packets of needles; those are in Case #11.
 • LZ notes:  I am uncertain if this is two sewing kits – or if it’s one kit, opened here but then folded closed in Greenwich’s photo.  Cheyne and the Kelly Catalogue both list two.  McClintock records seeing multiple but bringing away only one; Hobson also reports only bringing one away.  I see only one on Greenwich’s website.  I tend to trust McClintock and Hobson.

2 Handkerchiefs  AAA2157AAA2158
 • Cheyne:  two pieces of handkerchief
 • LZ notes:  Greenwich’s site currently lists all four of their McClintock handkerchiefs as being in  the Cheyne photo (adding AAA2159 and AAA2160).  However Cheyne says (as does the Kelly Catalogue) that there are only two here, and only two are evident to me.
 • Walpole also lists all four, as Greenwich did.

Snow goggles  AAA2164
 • Cheyne:  a pair of goggles, having crape instead of glass

Green veil  (missing)
 • Cheyne:  A green crape veil, to protect the eyes from snow-blindness
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A gauze or small green crape veil, to protect the face from snow

Sailmaker’s palm  AAA2166

Marine shako  AAA2121
 • Cheyne:  ornament of a marine's shako (added later; not listed in an earlier edition of Cheyne's booklet – LZ)
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Brass ornament to a royal marine’s shako plate
 • McClintock:  Brass ornaments of a marine’s shako

Pocket flask  AAA2168
 • Cheyne:  (not listed)
 • Kelly Catalogue:  A tin water bottle
 • McClintock:  tin water bottle for the pocket
 • Walpole identified this, even though it's not listed in the Cheyne booklet.






Cheyne #7  (Shot Flasks)

Cheyne's booklet heading:  "Found in the Boat"

Port fire  AAA2150
 • Cheyne:  Two pieces of port fire

Twine  AAA2267
 • Cheyne:  roll of waxed twine
 • McClintock:  roll of waxed twine
 • RUSI info card:  Wax Thread
 • While the Kelly Catalogue says waxed twine, the newspaper list that the Kelly was based off of (see Appendix) says waxed thread.
 • Walpole incorrectly listed this as AAA2146, likely going by Greenwich's own description of that item as, "A roll of waxed twine found in an abandoned boat at Erebus Bay."  I don't know what that AAA2146 is, but it is far too large (165 mm) to be the relic in the Cheyne photograph.  AAA2146 somewhat resembles a McClintock relic sketched in Illustrated Times (15 Oct 1859 p.253, sketch item #19) – which that newspaper labeled as "Ball of Twine."  That sketch has the same overall shape of AAA2146, but it has the appearance of rolled paper or rolled fabric scraps, not the threads of AAA2146.  The sketched relic is held together by ties.  I'm not sure how to sort out the confusion here; Illustrated Times referred to a roll as a ball whilst Cheyne referred to a ball as a roll.
 • LZ notes:  This relic in Cheyne's photograph is a strong visual and size match for Ball of wool AAA2267, currently (July 2020) listed by Greenwich as "A small ball of blue wool probably found on Beechey Island."  

Bristles  AAA2220

Nails  AAA2213, AAA2214, AAA2215
 • Cheyne:  copper nails.
 • Walpole listed the first two, missed AAA2215.

Musket balls  AAA2124
 • Not in Walpole.
 • LZ notes:  Was this what Cheyne meant by “Bullets”?  The card in the display case clearly reads, “Musket Balls.”  Visually, this relic is a strong match for AAA2124:  I can pick out 10 or 11 musket balls in the Cheyne photo which lines up with the 12 musket balls in the Greenwich item entry.  However, Greenwich says AAA2124 comes from the smallest tent at Cape Felix, while the Cheyne #7 group implies this material is all from the Boat Place at Erebus Bay.  I believe Cheyne's location indications are not always correct (cf. the Spindle in Cheyne #6).

Telescope glass  AAA2185
 • Cheyne:  telescopes.
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Telescope glass.
 • McClintock:  One of the glasses of a telescope.
 • Not identified by Walpole.
 • LZ notes:  This is unusual because Cheyne says plural “telescopes”.  There are zero telescopes in this photo let alone multiple.  This is where the Kelly Catalogue is crucial as a source:  their listing for this Cheyne photo is “Telescope glass,” singular.  That corresponds nicely with McClintock and Hobson both reporting, “One of the glasses of a telescope,” being found in The Boat.   AAA2185 is a strong visual match.

Wooden button  AAA2149

Shot in kid glove fingers  AAA2151
 • RUSI info card:  Shot Charges in fingers of Kid Gloves
 • Walpole mistyped number as AAA22151

Knife sheath  AAA2167
 • Cheyne:  a bayonet scabbard, altered into a sheath for a knife
 • RUSI info card:  Part of a Scabbard

Glove, woolen/worsted  AAA2126
 • Cheyne:  a woollen glove
 • McClintock:  worsted glove, colours red, white, and blue
 • RUSI info card:  Worsted Mit
 • Walpole thought this was in Slide #6, but later noted that it appeared to be included here.
 • LZ notes:  The modern photography shows this relic to have virtually disintegrated.  Cheyne's photo shows that the sketch in the Illustrated London News (Oct 15 1859 p. 363) was impressively accurate regarding the Nordic pattern details.

Wire cartridges  AAA2123
 • Not in Walpole.
 • LZ notes:  I believe this is what Cheyne listed as: "cartridge; cartridge shot charges."  This is by process of elimination more than my understanding of firearm terminology.  Also, in Cheyne’s photograph these sit in a tray with shot, however the shot is not visible in this Greenwich catalogue entry's photos.  Perhaps the shot was put back into the shot flasks.

Shot flask, plain  AAA2170
Shot flask, striped  AAA2169
 • Cheyne:  shot pouches
 • RUSI info card:  Shot Case, Full Of Shot
 • Walpole thought AAA2151 (Shot in kid glove fingers) for the shot pouches description, later noted one of the two flasks (AAA2170).

Flannel cartridge  (presumed missing)
 • Cheyne:  Flannel
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Flannel
 • RUSI info card:  Flannel Cartridge
 • McClintock:  small flannel cartridge containing an ounce of damaged powder

Percussion caps  AAA2187
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Percussion caps – large, and of the old-fashioned kind

Stanchions  AAA2143
 • Cheyne:  stanchions 9 inches long, for supporting a weather cloth that was round the boat
 • LZ notes:  There are three stanchions in the AAA2143 entry at Greenwich (with decimal designations), but only two stanchions in the Cheyne photo.  I am unsure which we are seeing in the Cheyne.

Canvas  AAA2144
 • RUSI info card:  Canvas Boat Cloth
 • LZ notes:  If you mentally flip over the (current) single image available at Greenwich for this item, there is a strong match in the particular notched cut of the Cheyne canvas’s upper right corner.  Also, merely being around 9 inches high is consistent with being the “weather cloth” that the 9 inch boat stanchions supported (two of them seen on top of this canvas in the Cheyne photo).

Blank cartridges, 2 packets in green paper  AAA2175






Cheyne #8  (Chronometers)

Cheyne's booklet heading:  "Found in the Boat."

Block with hook  AAA2198
 • Jeremy Michell points out that the additional rope attached to the block is now missing from the object at Greenwich.

Chronometer Arnold 2020  AAA2202
Chronometer Parkinson & Frodsham 980  AAA2203
 • The Kelly Catalogue states that the two chronometers were, "originally found in a paper packet," a detail not in Cheyne nor in McClintock.  This is strongly contradicted by Hobson's report, which gives different location descriptions where each chronometer was found (specifically, both in the "stern sheets," but the P&F 980 appeared to be in the trouser watch pocket area of the larger 'officer' human remains).
 • LZ notes:  Greenwich had listed Arnold 2020 as coming from HMS Erebus, and P&F 980 as coming from HMS Terror.  This attribution goes back at least to Tomlinson's relic list in Ann Savour's 1999 book.  However in Cheyne's photograph, the info cards label the ships in reverse.  The original receipts from the Royal Observatory (ADL/D/18 and /19) show that the Cheyne photograph's labels were in fact correct.  I sent a letter to Greenwich on May 13th, 2021 suggesting that these ship attributions be reversed.
An inexplicable detail in the photo:  P&F 980 appears to still have its front glass, which is missing today.  The light reflection on it is identical to the reflection on the back of Arnold 2020.

Watches  AAA2188AAA2189AAA2190, AAA2191, AAA2192
 • None identified in Walpole.
 • LZ notes:  There seem to be five fragments shown, and five catalogue entries in Ann Savours 1999 relics list; Cheyne lists only three watches.  I can't verify these watch identifications (or separate them on the map) as there are not yet photographs on Greenwich's site.  

Crozier's Teaspoon  AAA2489
 • McClintock:  [in the boat] Crozier (a teaspoon only)
 • LZ notes:  Uniquely, the light reflection happens to light up Crozier's crest here, making it the only one visible and distinct in the series.

LZ notes on the silverware:  Aside from Crozier's Teaspoon, I'm staying away from the silverware until Greenwich finishes their photography.  I've added across the bottom of the map the names that I can read on the info cards.  Numbering the pieces across the bottom 1 to 12 (left-to-right), I'll make the following guesses for now:

#1.  Le Vesconte's Spoon AAA2488
#2.  Gore's Fork AAA2497
#7.  Couch's Spoon AAA2491
#8.  Hornby's Spoon AAA2495
#9.  Goodsir's Spoon AAA2498
#11.  Thomas's Fork AAA2496






Cheyne #9  (Toy Sledge)

Cheyne's booklet heading:  "Obtained from the Boothian Esquimaux, near the Magnetic Pole."

Gold chain  (missing)
Cheyne:  piece of a gold chain
Kelly Catalogue:  Piece of gold watch chain
McClintock:  a small portion of a gold watch-chain

Ornament, silver gilt  AAA2094
Cheyne:  a broken piece of silver gilt ornamental work
McClintock:  a broken piece of ornamental work apparently silver gilt
Not identified by Walpole.

Knife by Millikin, Strand  AAA2111
Cheyne:  handle of a desert [sic] knife (by Milikin, Strand)
Kelly Catalogue:  Handle of a dessert knife in bone or pine (by Millikin, Strand).  There was part of a razor in it, but it has been since broken off.
McClintock:  handle of a dessert knife, into which had been inserted a razor (since broken off) by Millikin, Strand
Not identified by Walpole.
 • LZ notes:  Jeremy Michell pointed out that this relic today still has its original tag from the 1859 McClintock relics exhibition at the RUSI Museum, i.e., the same tag we are seeing in Cheyne's 1859 photograph.

Sledge, toy model  AAE0203.9
Cheyne:  a model of a sledge
Kelly Catalogue:  Scraps of Wood
Not identified by Walpole
LZ notes:  For further reading, see this article on the toy sledge (link).  Also, there appear to be three related objects around the sledge:  left, right, and center.  These may have been figurative, or they may have merely been wood samples taken by McClintock (as the Kelly Catalogue would seem to indicate – though it misses the sledge identification entirely).

5 Buttons
Cheyne:  five buttons
Kelly Catalogue:  Five small naval and other buttons
McClintock:  a few small naval and other metal buttons
 • LZ notes:  Greenwich is identifying AAA2091 and AAA2092 as being in Cheyne #9.  That would seem to imply that AAA2090 and AAA2093 should also be included, though they are not currently.  By sizes and design these identifications look correct, but without viewing the entire Franklin button collection, it would be reaching for me to make a call here.

LZ notes on the silverware:  I'm staying away from the silverware until Greenwich finishes their photography.  The issue I see in this photo is that the three-tine fork AAA2477 ought to be in this case, and it's not there.  In the meantime (numbering the pieces 1 to 8, left-to-right), I'll make the following guesses:

#3.  Couch's Spoon AAA2476
#4.  McDonald's Fork AAA2475
#5.  McDonald's Spoon AAA2478

Cheyne on the silverware:
“Six spoons and two forks, bearing the crest of Sir John Franklin; the head of a fish, surrounded with laurel stems ; silver belonging to Lieutenants Fairholme and H. De Vesconte, A. Macdonald, Assistant Surgeon, and Lieutenant E. Couch (supposed from the initial letter T and crest a lion's head);”






Cheyne #10  (Snow Knives)

LZ notes:  artifacts listed from top to bottom, as Walpole did.

Cheyne's booklet heading:  "Obtained from the Boothian Esquimaux."

File  AAA2095

Snow Knife  (missing or not yet found)

Snow Knife  AAA2100

File  AAA2096

Snow Knife  AAA2099

Snow Knife  AAA2098

Snow Knife  AAA2097

Knife  AAA2102
 • RUSI info card:  Surgeon's(?) Scalpel(?)

Arrow  AAA2108

Arrow  AAA2109
 • Walpole wrote AAA2210, a Holy Bible.  One number off from that, AAA2110, is an arrow that Walpole may have intended – however, visually it is not the match that AAA2109 is.

Knife  AAA2104

Handle of obscured object  (unknown)
 • LZ notes:  This nearly-hidden object certainly resembles the other snow knife handles in the case.  Cheyne only lists seven knives, so this (a potential eighth) would be omitted from the official booklet.  The Kelly Catalogue lists seven knives, and specifies that the handleless knife is among that number.  McClintock's book at this point sounds similar, but it might be properly read as eight total (see below).  This mystery object only appears in Cheyne 10A, not Cheyne 10B.  [For further information on alternate Cheyne slides (link).]
 • McClintock:  Relics obtained from the Boothian Esquimaux, near the Magnetic Pole, in March and April, 1859 : Seven knives made by the natives out of materials obtained from the lost expedition, one knife without a handle

Arrow in front of case  (missing or not yet found)
 • Not noted in Walpole.
 • LZ notes:  This is not Walpole's AAA2110 either (see above notes, under AAA2109).






Cheyne #11  (Curtain Rod)

The record case  AAA2344, or AAA2229, or possibly both separated by a bladder.  (Nothing is visible in the photograph.)
 • LZ notes:  Cheyne, Kelly Catalogue, and a contemporary news article all cite “the record case” for the Victory Point Record as being in this #11 display case – and Kelly says the Victory Point Record is here as well.  Neither is visible in the Cheyne photograph.  It’s possible the record case is hiding behind the front lip of the case, but it may simply have been omitted.  It's also possible that an alternate Slide #11 will be found in the future that shows the record case included.  [For further information on alternate Cheyne slides (link).]
The possibility of two tins separated by a bladder is my own personal theory, based on when Mecham found the Investigator note in a copper cylinder (12 Oct 1852, quoted various sources – "I drew out a roll folded in a bladder").  It's possible that just such a Victory Point Record bladder is what is shown in Illustrated London News Oct 15 1859 p. 363 (the open tube above cylinder AAA2344).  For more on this topic, see my VPR notes here (link).

2 foot rule  AAA2225

Gun cleaning rod  AAA2226
 • Cheyne: two joints of the cleaning rod of a gun

Button
 • Walpole guessed AAA2139

Curtain rod  AAA2228.2

Cheyne's booklet heading:  "Found at the Northern Cairn, near Cape Felix."

Pike head, bent  AAA2129
 • LZ notes:  There seems to be an extra piece here in the Cheyne photograph, attached by a bit of string, that is not with AAA2129 in Greenwich today.  Therefore I am leaving that piece blinking white on the map.

Pike head, straight  AAA2130

Needles  AAA2132AAA2133,  AAA2134,  AAA2135
 • Cheyne:  some packages of needles
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Six or eight packages of needles

Powder case lid  AAA2140

Snow goggle eyepiece  AAA2125
 • Cheyne: part of a pair of steel spectacles

Brass Lid Screw  AAA2357
 • Cheyne:  brass screw for screwing down lid.
 • Walpole listed this as AAA2122, but then wrote later that it did seem more like AAA2357.

Hinge  AAA2256
 • McClintock:  brass screw for screwing down lid, also a copper hinge of the lid of powder-case
 • Hobson:  Metal lid, screw and hinge of a powder case.
• LZ notes:  This was not mentioned by Cheyne – unless Cheyne simply considered it filed under the Brass lid screw.  McClintock wrote out both.  Hobson's report included it in a troika, with the Screw and Lid; I can see in the Cheyne photo that the Hinge and Brass Screw were then connected, but it's less obvious how the Powder case lid was attached to them.

Sextant eyepieces  AAA2141

Water keg bung-stave  AAA2120

Pork rib bones  AAA2136, AAA2137, AAA2138
 • Cheyne:  rib bones of salt pork
 • Kelly Catalogue:  Two small rib bones, probably out of salt pork.
 • Walpole only listed AAA2136.

White/blue china  AAA2263AAA2264, AAA2265
 • Cheyne:  two pieces of white china rimmed with blue
 • LZ notes:  While one is very close, the three fragments don't seem to match the two in the photograph exactly; I assume this is because pieces have broken off since 1859.  [I had matched this relic to AAA2264 for all three fragments, when Jeremy Michell advised me that record numbers AAA2263/5 were needed to refer to all three.]





Cheyne #12  (VPR)

The Victory Point Record  HSR/C/9/1
 • Cheyne:  The Record.
 • LZ notes:  My comments on the Victory Point Record are here (link).





Cheyne #13  (Fox)

The Fox – surviving parts:

Bell at Greenwich  EQA0462
Possibly her Wheel at Greenwich  EQS0368
Propeller at Aberdeen Maritime Museum.
Smokestack, boiler, and submerged shipwreck at Tasiusaq Harbor, Greenland.





Cheyne #14  (McClintock)

LZ notes:  All three of these relics have already been seen in Slide #1.

Walpole put the Box for Dip Circle AAA2376 and the Flag/Ensign AAA2128 in here, but they are not present.  The tablecloth is not the Ensign:  that same tablecloth is in fact visible behind the Ensign in the ensign slide (#2).

Medicine chest  AAA2224
Dip circle by Robinson  AAA2223
Double barrel gun  AAA2531 or AAA2612

Francis Leopold McClintock is at Hanwell Cemetery, London, under a large Celtic cross behind an old church.  There's a cemetery cat named Mrs. Chippy on patrol.




* * *  




Appendix:  The Kelly Catalogue

This Cheyne list utilizes a source that I’ve referred to as The Kelly Catalogue.  [It is currently available here (link).]  It is a guide to the McClintock relics exhibition that mixes amateur inaccuracies with details available nowhere else.  [It may possibly be the catalogue that Jane Franklin derided as a vulgar catchpenny publication, to catch pence and sixpence.]

Label on an instrument made by Potter at 31 Poultry.
I refer to it as the Kelly because it was published by Kelly & Co.  I’m uncertain who the author was.  The four names/businesses listed beneath the publisher on the title page are names that appear in contemporary newspaper ads, offering tickets for the relics exhibition.  [One is Potter at 31 Poultry, who Alison Freebairn pointed out is John Dennett Potter the instrument maker – see image above.]  This leads me to believe that the Kelly Catalogue was commissioned to give those businesses something to sell alongside the free tickets that they were distributing.

The Kelly Catalogue’s list of relics is very clearly an adaptation of an earlier list, printed for example in The Standard (17 Oct 1859).  While the Kelly list is updated to the later display case configurations, it often retains the exact wording and even relic list order from The Standard’s original list.  Indeed, the Kelly opens by reprinting the entire article text from The Standard.

While the Kelly Catalogue is full of inaccuracies, it’s not that far behind Cheyne’s – and it is occasionally right when Cheyne’s is wrong.  I’ve found it to be an invaluable source in creating this list.  I thank Jacqui Grainger, RUSI Librarian, for making sure that I had this unique source to work with.




* * *     




This is Part 3 in a series revolving around Cheyne’s relic photography.



– L.Z.  October 8, 2020.

– Updated May 13, 2021, adding a new suggestion that the two chronometers' ship assignments today have been reversed, as Cheyne's photograph shows their correct attributions.