| Method | Lithograph with original hand colouring |
| Artist | Edward Duncan after Joseph Walter |
| Published | Day & Haghe Lithrs. to the Queen. Published by George Davey 1. Broad St. Bristol. [1838] |
| Dimensions | Image 270 x 470 mm, Sheet 390 x 560 mm |
| Notes |
A rare lithograph depicting the oak-hulled paddle steamer Great Western navigating past Portishead Point during her inaugural voyage to New York. Designed by the renowned engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this vessel was the first ship built under the Great Western Steamship Company, intended for regular trans-Atlantic crossings. The ship was launched in July 1837 from Wapping Wharf (now Prince's Wharf) in Bristol and was later fitted out in London. During her return sailing to Bristol, a fire erupted in the boiler room, causing injuries to Brunel. The maiden journey to New York went on to face challenges, as 50 of the 57 original paying passengers cancelled their plans, deeming the voyage too perilous after the news of the fire. Text below image: The Great Western Passing Portishead Point on her first Voyage to New York. To the Directors & Proprietors of the Great Western Steamship Company, Who, with courage and perseverance scarcely paralleled (considering it was formerly pronounced by Scientific Men to be quite impracticable) have, with the aid of their talented engineer, Mr. Brunel, triumphantly succeeded in establishing a Steam Communication with the United States; and thereby have shed an additional lustre on their Native City: This Plate is most respectfully dedicated by The Publisher. Extreme Length 236 ft._ Length on Deck 216 ft._ Keel 205 ft._ Width 35 ft._ Width over the Paddle Boxes 59ft._ Depth 23ft._ Register tonnage 1320_ 2 Engines of 200 Horse-power each. Joseph Walter (1783–1856) was an English artist known for his marine paintings. Born in Bristol, Walter was a member of the Bristol Society of Artists and exhibited at the Bristol Institution. He is most known for his portrayals of Brunel's steamships Great Western and Great Britain. Edward Duncan (1803 - 1882) was a printmaker and landscape watercolourist. Duncan began his career as an engraver of sporting subjects but later abandoned this and became solely a painter and printer of marine pictures. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the British Institution, and the Society of British Artists. He was also a member of the Royal Watercolour Society. The firm of Day & Haghe was one of the most prominent lithographic companies of the nineteenth-century. They were also amongst the foremost pioneers in the evolution of chromolithography. The firm was established in 1823 by William Day, but did not trade under the moniker of Day & Haghe until the arrival of Louis Haghe in 1831. In 1838, Day & Haghe were appointed as Lithographers to the Queen. However, and perhaps owing to the fact that there was never a formal partnership between the two, Haghe left the firm in the 1850's to devote himself to watercolour painting. The firm continued as Day & Son under the guidance of William Day the younger (1823 - 1906) but, as a result of a scandal involving Lajos Kossuth, was forced into liquidation in 1867. Vincent Brookes bought the company in the same year, and would produce the caricatures for Gibson Bowles' Vanity Fair magazine, as well as the illustrations for Cassells's Poultry Book, amongst other commissions. Parker & Bowen, p. 141. Condition: Repaired tear to lower sheet edge. Creasing to sheet. Toning from previous mount. Surface marks to margins. Some toning and staining to verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £1,000.00 |
| Stock ID | 53352 |