[ The Franklin Expedition ]
The Franklin Expedition, which sailed in 1845 under the leadership of Sir John Franklin, was a British naval attempt – much-hyped and widely celebrated – to navigate and chart the Northwest Passage. The expedition was a catastrophic failure; ravaged by disease (some of it caused by faulty preparations), the entire crew of 129 men eventually perished. The notoriety of the expedition was enhanced by the multiple "rescue" expeditions sent in search of any news of Franklin and his men, becoming a significant part of early- to mid-Victorian cultural lore. (There's even a connection to Sir Edwin Landseer, who was so struck by the tales of the expedition's demise that he created a massive painting dealing, indirectly, with the failure of the expedition. That work, Man Proposes, God Disposes, was said to have horrified Lady Franklin when she saw it on exhibition. For more about this Landseer masterpiece, click here.)
One of the animals taken on the expedition was a Newfoundland dog named Neptune, given to the expedition by Lady Franklin. Neptune was, apparently, mentioned several times by Sir John Franklin in his letters home. Like all other members of the expedition, human and non-human, Neptune perished.
Neptune
(Image credit: Canadian Geographic)
Canadian Geographic's website does not indicate the source of that image of Neptune,
but given the unusual markings on the dog's head I can't help but think
the artist may simply have been reworking the head of the Newfoundland depicted in
Sir Edwin Landseer's 1824 painting Neptune, a detail of which is shown below.
