1-150-738 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

The North-West Passage, 1874. Mr Disraeli, the Conservative Prime Minister, looks thoughtfully into the distance. Charts and maps are spread out around him and at his elbow is the drink of Popularity. Britannia sits at his feet. This relates to the decision by Disraeli's government to undertake another attempt to complete the mapping of the Northwest Passage through the archipelago that stretches from the North American mainland towards the North Pole. It was a dangerous enterprise, not just because of the geographical difficulties that would have to be overcome. The weather and the sea ice had also to be contended with. From Punch, or the London Charivari, December 5, 1874.