Cook, Frederick (1865-1940, American explorer, physician, and ethnographer), ALS signed "Frederick A Cook" on 1912 two-page letter on Bangor House/ Bangoe Mane letterhead, to a Gerald Christy and referring to a US lecture tour, pages of letter torn and well repaired not affecting a bold signature; Cook claimed that he had discovered the North Pole in 1908, making him a controversial figure. His fellow American explorer Robert E. Peary is generally credited with having achieved this feat in 1909 and he publicly denounced Cook-+s claim. Dr. Cook achieved fame as an explorer, serving as surgeon on Peary-+s first Arctic expedition (1891-92) and leading others to explore and climb Denali (Mount McKinley; 1903-06). (Image)

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Stefansson, Vilhjalmur (1879-1962, Canadian-born American explorer and ethnologist), signature "V. Steffansson" on TLS on Canadian Pacific Railway stationery datelined Nov 15, 1918 at "Between Medicine Hat and Calgary, Alberta", to a Mrs. Heard in Boston recalling a meeting with her son at the Harvard Club in NY City and promising to visit on his next visit to Boston, Very Fine; Stefansson was noted for spending five consecutive record-making years exploring vast areas of the Canadian Arctic after adapting himself to the Inuit (Eskimo) way of life. He found the last undiscovered land in Canada - the previously unknown islands in the Arctic Archipelago (Image)

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