Snowshoe Maker


Peary snowshoes, Norway, ca. 1905

Peary snowshoes, Norway, ca. 1905
Item 79928   info
Norway Historical Society

Mellie Dunham made snowshoes for Commodore Robert E. Peary's last two Arctic explorations.

In 1905 Peary ordered 62 pairs of snowshoes and he placed a duplicate order for the second expedition in 1909, when Peary reached the North Pole.

The Arctic snowshoes were a special design that were unusually long and narrow.

Several pairs were as long as 60 inches by 10 or 12 inches wide. Forty-eight pairs were 12 by 48 inches wide.

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