Until 'James Fitzjames: The Mystery Man of the Franklin Expedition' was published, there was no public knowledge of who James Fitzjames' true father was - in fact it was a closely guarded secret.
The book presents the evidence that his father was a British diplomat of the early ninteenth century called Sir James Gambier. Publication of the book put me in touch with (legitimate) descendants of Sir James, and through them I was able to see a portrait of Sir James, which they have kept down the generations and still retain.
Here is a photograph I took of the portrait.
There is more information and a close-up of Sir James' face on the book's website here.
Can anyone spot a resemblance between Sir James and his ill-fated son, James Fitzjames, in the Franklin Expedition Daguerreotypes?
Original post: https://web.archive.org/web/20160916085648/http://hidden-tracks-book.blogspot.com/2010/09/sir-james-gambier.html