FRANKLIN, Jane, Lady (1792-1875). Wife of the explorer, Sir John Franklin.
Autograph Letter Signed to Dr Gray, 1½ pages 8vo with integral blank, Upper Gore Lodge, 8 October 1860. Declining to have anything to do with Spiritualism, but paradoxically offering to help investigate its efficacy.

'I am the wrong person to apply to in any thing which concerns spiritualism, the subject being extremely repulsive to me & never having engaged my attention except when forced to take some notice of the numerous communications thrust upon me in past years.
I would gladly aid in any effort to put it on its trial, & for this purpose have applied to my sister ... to see if she can help Mr Tooke in his object. ...'

It is perhaps not surprising that many attempts had been made to interest Lady Franklin in Spiritualism. Her husband, Sir John Franklin, had embarked on his fatal expedition to discover the North West Passage in 1845. Between 1850 and 1857 she had from her own resources helped to fit out five separate ships to search for the explorers, and it was the last of these, the Fox, captained by Leopold McClintock, which eventually discovered their fate, after the offical search had been called off.
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