Deck Scene of the Great Eastern

1857

Robert Howlett

(British, 1831–1858)

Culture

England, 19th century

Medium

albumen print from wet collodion negative

Measurements

Image: 28.4 x 36 cm (11 3/16 x 14 3/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1996.355

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Location

Not on view

Description

A leading professional photographer of the mid-1850s, Robert Howlett is best known for his extended group of photographs documenting the construction and launching of the Great Eastern steamship. Designed by one of the greatest engineers of his time, I.K. Brunel, the Great Eastern took over four years to construct and, because of its immense size, an unprecedented three months to launch. For over forty years, the Great Eastern was the largest steamship ever constructed and it became a symbol of Great Britain's national pride and industrial supremacy. In this image, Howlett has captured the steamship's deck in the midst of construction while laborer's stand idly in the background and gentleman and engineers seem to confer in the foreground.