Journal of HMS Enterprise, on the Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin's Ships by Behring Strait, 1850–55
Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration Series

Published posthumously in 1889, this journal records the 1850?5 expedition undertaken by naval officer and navigator Sir Richard Collinson (1811?83) to attempt to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin's expedition by entering the hypothetical North-West Passage from the 'other side', via Bering Strait. Franklin, the famous Polar explorer, disappeared on an expedition to discover the Passage in 1845, and no fewer than thirty attempts were made between 1847 and 1859 to investigate what had happened to his 129-strong party. Collinson set out in command of HMS Enterprise in 1850, and his ship, which passed three successive winters in the Arctic, came closest to the place where Franklin's expedition was believed to have ended. Collinson was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Geographical Society in 1858 for making a significant contribution to the geographical knowledge of the area, and he was knighted in 1875.

Letter from Admiral Sir G. H. Richards to the Editor; The Journal: Prologue; 1. England to Magellan Straits; 2. Magellan Straits to Sandwich Islands; 3. Sandwich Islands to the Polar Sea; 4. Port Clarence and Icy Cape; 5. To Sitka; 6. To Hong Kong; 7. To Port Clarence; 8. To Baring or Banks Island; 9. Prince of Wales Straits; 10. Exploring parties; 11. Dolphin and Union Straits; 12. Cambridge Bay; 13. Victoria Straits; 14. Return Westward; 15. Camden Bay; 16. Return to England; Epilogue; Notes; The Memoir of Admiral Collinson T. B. Collinson: 1. Ovingham School; 2. HMS Cambridge, 1823–7; 3. HMS Chanticleer, 1828–31; 4. HMS Aetna, Medea, Sulphur, 1831–9; 5. Chinese War and survey, 1840–6; 6. At home, 1846–9 and 1855–62; 7. The Trinity House, 1862–83; Index.