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Description: | The 'Great Eastern', or Leviathan, launched in 1858, was much larger than any previous ship and was not equalled in size for another 50 years. She had both paddle and screw propulsion and was designed to carry 4000 passengers; but she made only nine Atlantic crossings before her conversion to a cable-laying ship in order to lay the first transatlantic cable from Ireland to Newfoundland in 1865 (a previous attempt having failed in 1858). This failed when the cable broke and could not be recovered, but a repeat attempt in 1866 succeeded and recovered and completed the 1865 cable. In 1869 she laid a French Atlantic cable from Brest and was seen doing so at sea off Ushant by a passenger called H. Short from Lower Sydenham, making a voyage in another ship to Gibraltar: his illustrated travel journal was sold at Bonham's, London, on 7 June 2011 for �800 (apparently to a French dealer) but a relevant passage was quoted in the sale report in the 'Antiques Trade Gazette' of 9 July, p. 37: ' we were broadside on to the great ship and within hail, the Captain having deviated somewhat from his course in order to give his passengers a view of the monster vessel, with her attendant steamer, which appeared like a waterman's boat, by comparison. Great excitement - crew ordered to man the rigging - passengers standing in line on the deck - the Captain uncovered [i.e. hat off], and with the usual number of "hips", we all joined in three tremendous cheers, which after some little delay were returned...We could plainly se the cable "paying" out.' [PvdM 7/11]
Production: second engineer on the Great Eastern. According to archive records artist definitely deceased 1905.
caption: The steamship Great Eastern laying the first successful Atlantic cable | Publisher: | "http://collections.rmg.co.uk/" | Rights holder: | "Royal Museums Greenwich" | Subjects: | Great Eastern 1858 Henry Clifford paintings | Source: | Royal Museums Greenwich | Identifier: | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections... | Go to resource |
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