1866 set of 15 lithographs from 'The Atlantic Telegraph' W.H. Russell

Beautiful lithographs created by Robert Dudley for W.H. Russell’s famous 'The Atlantic Telegraph’ book which told the story of the laying of the first Atlantic telegraph cable by the steamship Great Eastern. The cable started in Ireland terminated in Newfoundland.

These lithographs are recognized as being some of the best of the period and topic.

The book had 26 plates in total: the title page, 24 coloured lithographs, and the chart of the voyage.

This lot includes the title page and 14 of the coloured lithographs.

Title Page of Standard Edition

Smudges LR and UR corners.

26 x 19 cm //  10 ¼" x 7 ½"  

Page 36-37  Coiling the cable in the large tanks at the works at Greenwich

Smudge LL corner , slight bending LR corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 39  The Old Frigate with her freight of cable alongside the “Great Eastern” at Sheerness

Crease LL corner. Smudges on lower border. Slight bending LR corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 40  Paying-Out machinery

Smudge LR corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 42  Coiling the cable in the after tank on board the Great Eastern at Sheerness … May 24^th

Crease LR corner. Smudge UL corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 52  The Great Eastern under weigh July 23^rd…

Crease and smudge LL corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm //  7 ½" x 10 ½"  

Page 57  Splicing the cable (after the first accident) on board the Great Eastern July 25^th

Diagonal fold UL corner. Small tear LR corner. Smudges on lower border. Smudge right border.

19 cm x 26,50 cm //  7 ½" x 10 ½"  

Page 63  View (looking aft) from the port paddle box of Great Eastern showing the trough for cable

Smudges right border. Crease top border.

26,50 cm x 19 cm  //  10 ½" x 7 ½"

Page 68  The forge on deck, night of August 9^th preparing the iron plating for capstan

Toning, smudges bottom border.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 71  Searching for fault after recovery of the cable from the bed of the Atlantic July 31^st

Small tear left border. Crease left border. Rust spot, smudges LR corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 77  In the bows August 2^nd the cable broken and lost- preparing to grapple

Larger tear left border (not into image). Small creases LL, LR and UR corners. Spot left border, LR corner.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 79  Getting out one of the large buoys for launching August 2^nd

Crease LL corner. Toning lower border. Small tear lower border.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½" 

Page 86  Interior of one of the tanks on board the Great Eastern – cable passing out

Smudge LL corner. Toning UR corner. Toning lower border. Crease LR corner. Toning, smudge right border.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½"  

Page 88  Launching buoy on August 8^th in Lat 51 25’ 30” (marking spot where cable had been grappled)

Creases LR, UR corners. Small ink streak lower border.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½"  

Page 93  Forward deck cleared for the final attempt at grappling Aug 11^th

Smudges LL and LR corners. Toning spots LR corner, lower border.

19 cm x 26,50 cm  //  7 ½" x 10 ½"    

William Howard Russell’s book is perhaps the most spectacular work on the Atlantic Cable, with lithographs after the original watercolours made by Robert Charles Dudley on the 1865 Great Eastern cable expedition, along with others made by Dudley at that time representing scenes from the earlier expeditions.  Page size is 11¼" x 8"; image size approximately 8¾" x 6". Many reviews of the work appeared in newspapers beginning in late December 1865, so while the book itself carries no publication date, it can be ascribed to 1865.

atlantic-cable.com/Books/Russell/index.html

Robert Charles Dudley (1826–1909) was a versatile artist who enjoyed a considerable reputation in his own time. A painter of seascapes, he practised across a range of printing media; mainly a lithographer and chromolithographer, he was also a draughtsman drawing on wood for mid-Victorian periodicals; an accomplished designer of book-covers (Ball, p.148; King, p.16) and Christmas cards (1887); and a writer and illustrator who published a number of black and white and coloured books for children. Highly productive, he is most remembered for his vivid illustrations for The Atlantic Telegraph (1866), and for his bindings. Constrained, like all of his contemporaries, by the conditions of a crowded and competitive market, Dudley was willing to turn his hand to whatever employment was available.

…These works had a general audience, but Dudley’s interest in this genre was put to best use in his monumental series of chromolithographs for The Atlantic Telegraph (1866).

www.victorianweb.org