- Title:
- Brunel with chains of the Great Eastern, photograph
- Object name(s):
- Brunel with chains of the Great Eastern, photograph; photograph; accessioned photograph
- Brief description:
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel standing infront of the chains he designed for the S.S. GREAT EASTERN. The chains were made at the Brown Lenox works at Pontypridd, and this picture was taken at Scott Russell's shipyard & ironworks on the Isle of Dogs. Victoria & Albert Museum caption reads: This famous portrait was taken as part of a series of photographs by Robert Howlett that documents the construction of the massive steamship The Great Eastern on the banks of the Thames. It is a powerful image in which the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), who was the ship’s creator, projects all the confidence and ambition of the Victorian era. Howlett portrays Brunel in his ‘stove-pipe’ hat and stacked-heel boots to give him height and presence. His formal clothes are dishevelled and muddied from the site. The backdrop is dominated by the chains of the stern checking drum. This controlled the slow slide of the ship down to the water’s edge, where it was launched by being lifted on the tide.
- Collection:
- Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales
- Acquisition date:
- 2/7/1987
- Acquisition method:
- donation
- Associated concept:
- 1850s
- Associated concept:
- Great Eastern
- Associated concept:
- iron & steel
- Associated concept:
- metal smelting
- Associated concept:
- royal/v.i.p. visits
- Dimension:
- length (mm):635
- Dimension:
- width (mm):505
- Entry date:
- 2/7/1987
- Material:
- paper
- Number of objects:
- 1
- Object name:
- Brunel with chains of the Great Eastern, photograph; photograph (print); accessioned photograph
- Object production date:
- 1857
- Object production date:
- Date - earliest / single:
- 1/1/1857
- Date - latest:
- 31/12/1857
- Object production person:
- Howlett, Robert
- Person's association:
- photographer
- Person's biographical note:
- person
- Other number:
- 87.108I/123
- Other number type:
- accession number
- Ownership place:
- Isle of Dogs
- Place status:
- place name
- Reproduction number:
- media-8356
- Reproduction type:
- image
Persistent shareable link for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/b0553707-e519-3b1c-b621-780c4008823b
Use licence for this record: CC BY-NC
Attribution for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/b0553707-e519-3b1c-b621-780c4008823b, Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales, CC BY-NC
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