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Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
SET OF FIVE PLATES (COMMERCE & EXPANSION.) J.H. Bufford's, lithographers. Set of 5 prints depicting the "Abandonment of the Whalers in the Arctic Ocean,Sept. 1871." Hand-colored lithographs, each about 14 1/2 x 21 inches; light spotting and minor wear, #3 with repaired tears, all professionally cleaned, stabilized and conserved. New Bedford, MA: Benjamin Russell, 1872
These views depict the Whaling Disaster of 1871, in which a fleet of 40 whale ships north of the Bering Strait were caught by an unexpectedly early freeze in late August. 33 of them were trapped in the pack ice, with some of them crushed. In a remarkable show of solidarity, their entire crews were transferred by small whaleboats to the 7 ships which remained free of the ice. All 1219 men were saved, but the 33 ships were lost--a harsh blow to an already dying industry. One set in OCLC, at Dartmouth College.
