The second of two sketchbooks documenting Royal Navy Captain John Franklin's second overland expedition to the Canadian Arctic in 1825-1827. The expedition's progress was recorded in the first sketchbook (MIKAN 3705121) to their winter quarters at Fort Franklin on Great Bear Lake. Three watercolour sketchess in this second sketchbook may have been done in the spring of 1826. However, most of the sketches document the expedition after June 24, 1826. On this date, Franklin and Back left their winter base and descended the Mackenzie River to its mouth, where they embarked in two specially constructed boats, the Lion and the Reliance, to chart the unknown Arctic coast westward to Icy Cape, Alaska. Forty-six pencil sketches document this unsuccessful mission which was forced to turn back at Return Reef because of heavy ice blocking its route. Back was unable to produce colour sketches during the voyage, but he did take quick pencil sketches, with detailed colour notes. A separate set of watercolour versions were later produced, four of which (Acc. Nos. 1955-103, 1955-104, 1955-105, and 1955-106) belong to LAC, and two of which belong to the National Gallery of Canada (NGC acc. nos. 8954 and 8957). Seventeen of the sketches formed the basis for engravings published in Franklin's "Narrative of a Second Expedition...." published in London by John Murray in 1828.
In conjunction with the second sketchbook, Back maintained a journal, rough and fair copies of which are now on deposit at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England. Copies of these journals are available under certain restrictions on LAC microfilm (A-820 and A-821 respectively).
Four more watercolours after these sketchbook drawings are known but are not in the LAC's holdings. Records of their sale at various auctions are noted in the Archives Canada Microfiche Series 12 and 13 (Supply and Services Canada, 1980).
