NARRATIVE DOCUMENT PERTAINING TO THE LOSS OF THE WHALESHIP "ESSEX" OF NANTUCKET

Conditions of Sale

1. CORRECTNESS OF DESCRIPTION: Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Eldred's) has exercised reasonable care to catalog and describe correctly the property to be sold, but neither Eldred's nor its consignors warrant the correctness of description, attribution, authenticity, or condition of said property. No statements shall be deemed such a warranty or representation or an assumption of liability with respect thereto, but are to be construed as opinions only. Bidders are encouraged to personally examine all property to be sold prior to the beginning of the auction.

2. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as numbered.

3. Eldred's reserves the right to withdraw any property before the sale.

4. DETERMINATION OF HIGHEST BIDDER: The highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. In the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer may determine who is the successful bidder or the auctioneer may re-offer the article in dispute and his decision shall be final.

5. REJECTION OF BIDS: The auctioneer reserves the right to reject any nominal raise or any bid or raise which, in his opinion, is not commensurate with the value of the article being offered. At his discretion, he may also reject any nominal raise or any bid that he may determine as having a detrimental effect on the item in question or the sale as a whole. Eldred's may refuse to issue bidding privileges to any person not in good credit standing with Eldred's, who has no credit standing, or to any person who is deemed by Eldred's in its sole discretion, to be disruptive of or harmful to established auction practices, either before or after the acceptance of bids or the fall of the hammer.

6. TITLE: Except as herein otherwise provided, title will pass to the highest bidder as determined by the auctioneer, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser's sole risk and responsibility.

7. PAYMENT: On title passing to the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer, and subject to all the conditions set forth herein, such bidder will thereupon pay the full purchase price. Payment in full is due within 7 days of the time of sale. Any bills not paid in full within 25 days of the date of the sale will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per month. In addition, the purchaser may be subject to one or more of the following actions: a) Any and all legal remedies available to Eldred's and its consignors by law including without limitation the right to hold the purchaser liable for the total purchase price; b) Immediate cancellation of the sale, with Eldred's retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the purchaser; c) Resale of the property at public auction, wherein the original purchaser shall be liable for any deficiency, costs, and Eldred's commission on both sales. At Eldred's option, payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until Eldred's has collected funds represented by checks, or in the case of bank or cashier's checks, their authenticity has been confirmed. A buyer's premium will be added to the hammer price to be paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price.

8. ORDER BIDS: Subject to these Conditions of Sale and to such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, but at no charge to the customer, Eldred's will undertake to execute all order bids submitted to it by a customer who has established credit with said company. Requests for such bidding must be given in writing with such clearness as to leave no room for misunderstanding as to the amount to be bid and must state the catalog number and the name or title of the article to be bid on. Telephone bids must be confirmed in writing or by cable. All bids are kept in strict confidence. In the event of identical bids, the earliest will take precedence (This applies to bids left directly with Eldred's NOT for online left bids). IMPORTANT ONLINE BIDDING NOTE: Because the live auction console does not differentiate between left bids and live bids, the first bid accepted by the auctioneer is the winning bid, regardless of the time the bid was originally left. Eldred's shall not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. A deposit of 10% of the total amount bid is required. TELEPHONE BIDS: While the sale is in progress, bidding by telephone may be allowed by the auctioneer at his discretion. A deposit of 10% of the anticipated top bid is required. Eldred's shall not be held responsible for any failure to properly execute such a bid whether it be due to equipment failure, loss of connection, or failure to hear or understand the bidder's directions. Any advice or opinions provided by Eldred's or its employees are given strictly as a courtesy and are not a warrant of condition, attribution, authenticity, or description of said property. All bidding by telephone is solely at the risk of the bidder.

9. CONDITION: If for any cause whatsoever any article sold cannot be delivered, or cannot be delivered in as good condition as the same may have been at the time of sale, due to a failure or damage on the company's part, the sale will be cancelled, and any amount that may have been paid on account of the sale will be returned to the purchaser. EXCEPTION: Eldred's will not be held responsible for damage to picture frames or lampshades. Eldreds will not be responsible for damage by the shipping agent or their shippers after it has been delivered to such agent by Eldreds.

10. SALES TAX: All purchases are subject the buyer's individual sales tax rules and Eldred's economic nexus in the state. Please assume that your state sale's tax will be collected.

11. RESERVES: Unless advertised as an "Unreserved Auction", all sales may have items subject to reserve (an agreed upon price between the auctioneer and the consignor, below which the article will not be sold).

12. COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

13. PACKING and Shipping. In all cases the packing and shipping will be handled by an outside agent and arranged for by the purchaser. Eldreds uses the local UPS store or Pak Mail store. Eldred's will provide alternative shipping suggestions for items to large to be handled by these firms. Any other arrangements are the responsibility of the purchaser. Eldred(TM)s must be informed as to such arrangements. After payment purchases will not be kept in Eldred(TM)s possession pending delivery, for more than a week. The UPS store, Pak Mail Store or shipper of purchasers discretion will be responsible for removing them and storing them at the purchasers expense until shipment. Eldred's will not be responsible for damage or loss once the item has been received by the shipper. In the case of fragile articles, shipping will be undertaken at the sole discretion of the shipper.

14. These Conditions of Sale cannot be altered except in writing by Eldreds or by public announcement by the auctioneer at the time of the sale.

15. Bidding on any article(s) indicates acceptance of the terms set forth above.

16. These Conditions of Sale

Buyer's Premium

A 26% Buyer's Premium will be charged on successful bids.

Contract

Your bid is a legally binding contract. Upon the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, title will pass to the highest bidder, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser's sole risk and responsibility.

Users must register and be approved to bid prior to the auction. Eldred's reserves the right to deny approval for any reason.

If you are the winning bidder, Eldred's demands payment within seven (7) days of receiving your invoice. Eldred's will pursue payment through all available means, including legal action. If you do not intend to pay, DO NOT BID.

Payment

Eldred's requires payment within seven (7) days of receiving your invoice.

Payment can be made by check, money order or electronic transfer. We accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover for invoices totaling $10,000 USD or less, provided the credit card has a U.S. billing address. INTERNATIONAL CREDIT CARDS will be NOT be accepted under any circumstances. Credit cards are not accepted for jewelry purchases and other items at our discretion. Money orders, wire transfers and electronic payments may be subject to transaction fees.

Your bid is a legally binding contract. Eldred's will pursue payment through all available means, including legal action.

Shipping is not included in the purchase price, and the buyer is responsible for arranging for shipment of all purchases. Eldred's is happy to help coordinate and recommend shipping agents. NO ITEMS WILL BE RELEASED FOR SHIPPING OR DELIVERY UNTIL PAYMENT HAS CLEARED.

Shipping

We require prompt payment and removal of your purchases as stated in Paragraph 12 of our Conditions of Sale. Arrangements to pick up or ship your purchases must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction.

All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the close of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

PICK-UP OF PURCHASES
If you plan to pick up your purchases, please call ahead and we'll make every effort to have your items ready. Our address is 1483 Route 6A, East Dennis, Massachusetts. Arrangements to pick up of smaller items at our Hanover, Massachusetts or Mystic, Connecticut locations can be made with advance notice.

SHIPPING OF PURCHASES
Shipping is not included in the purchase price. Shipping quotes will not be provided until the invoice is paid in full.

Select items may be available for in-house shipping. In-house shipping is offered exclusively though UPS. Eldred's charges a minimum $15 handling fee per package, plus actual UPS shipping charges. All items are shipped with UPS insurance (max. $50,000), which is charged at $2.70 for the first $100 and at $0.90 per $100 thereafter.

For items not eligible for in-house shipping, Eldred's is happy to help coordinate and recommend shipping agents.

Absentee Bids

Your maximum bid is kept confidential from the auctioneer. It is therefore possible, in the normal course of soliciting bids from other auction participants, that the auctioneer could sell an item to another bidder for the same amount as your maximum bid. This is a rare, yet unfortunate and unavoidable occurrence. THE WINNING BIDDER IS ALWAYS DETERMINED BY THE AUCTIONEER.