The Departure.
Painted by Rob.t Smirke. Aquatinta by F. Jukes. Engraved by Rob.t Pollard.
London, Pub.d March 8 1784 by R. Pollard No 15 Braynes Row, Spa Fields, & R. Wilkinson No 58 Cornhill.
Scarce aquatint with etching. Sheet 440 x 550mm (17¼ x 21¾"). Trimmed to plate, repaired tears, surface cracking, laid on archival paper. Damaged.
A scene on a snowy shoreline, with a longboat about to leave to find help, leaving other survivors of a shipwreck behind. It illustrates the aftermath of a shipwreck on Cape Breton in 1780, as recorded by Samuel Weller Prenties, an ensign of the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants). He had been sent on a voyage between Quebec and New York, taking dispatches from Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec, and Sir Henry Clinton, Commander-in-Chief in North America during the American Revolution. Castaway on a remote coast of Cape Breton, the decision was made for Prenties and five sailors to go for help. After exhausting their supplies and being on the point of death, they were saved by tribesmen who they sent to look for their colleagues. Three of the nine left behind had survived, having resorted to cannibalism. Eventually the survivors reached Halifax and headed for home.
[Ref: 59115] £390.00
London, Pub.d March 8 1784 by R. Pollard No 15 Braynes Row, Spa Fields, & R. Wilkinson No 58 Cornhill.
Scarce aquatint with etching. Sheet 440 x 550mm (17¼ x 21¾"). Trimmed to plate, repaired tears, surface cracking, laid on archival paper. Damaged.
A scene on a snowy shoreline, with a longboat about to leave to find help, leaving other survivors of a shipwreck behind. It illustrates the aftermath of a shipwreck on Cape Breton in 1780, as recorded by Samuel Weller Prenties, an ensign of the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants). He had been sent on a voyage between Quebec and New York, taking dispatches from Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec, and Sir Henry Clinton, Commander-in-Chief in North America during the American Revolution. Castaway on a remote coast of Cape Breton, the decision was made for Prenties and five sailors to go for help. After exhausting their supplies and being on the point of death, they were saved by tribesmen who they sent to look for their colleagues. Three of the nine left behind had survived, having resorted to cannibalism. Eventually the survivors reached Halifax and headed for home.
[Ref: 59115] £390.00