The Great Eastern

From the London Illustrated News. Supplement Sept. 17, 1859. From A Drawing by Edwin Werdon. A very early image with 5 stacks prior to one being removed. This image was originally painted by Werdon prior to the maiden voyage explosion. A rare and historically important chromolithograph. No copies located in OCLC, Library of Congress and the New York Public Library. Rare.

Artist: After Edwin Werdon
Print Type: Chromolithograph
Date: 1859
Publisher: London Illustrated News
Origin: British
Demensions: 24 x 36"
Provenance: Hill House
Subject: Nautical
Notes & Literature: SS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was only surpassed in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic, her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 701-foot (214 m) 21,035-gross-ton RMS Celtic, and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by the 4,935-passenger SS Imperator. The ship's five funnels were rare. These were later reduced to four.
Brunel knew her affectionately as the "Great Babe". He died in 1859 shortly after her ill-fated maiden voyage, during which she was damaged by an explosion. After repairs, she plied for several years as a passenger liner between Britain and North America before being converted to a cable-laying ship and laying the first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866.[4] Finishing her life as a floating music hall and advertising hoarding (for the famous department store Lewis's) in Liverpool, she was broken up on Merseyside in 1889.
Laying of the Trans-Atlantic Cable: The conversion work for Great Eastern's new role consisted in the removal of funnel no. 4 and some boilers as well as great parts of the passenger rooms and saloons to give way for open top tanks for taking up the coiled cable. Under Sir James Anderson[20] she laid 4,200 kilometres (2,600 mi) of the 1865 transatlantic telegraph cable. Under Captains Anderson and then Robert Halpin, from 1866 to 1878 the ship laid over 48,000 kilometres (30,000 mi) of submarine telegraph cable including from Brest, France to Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1869, and from Aden to Bombay in 1869 and 1870
Condition Report: Folds as issued. Some light half-ring stains along base. Very minor opening in crease line in few spots. Some toning at bottom crease. Good Plus.
Subject References: Transatlantic Cable History Historical ships nautical explosions steamships 19th century telegraph Samuel F. B. Morse

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