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Robert Howlett
Captain William Harrison
1857
Albumen print
9 1/4 x 11 1/2 in.
Archive Farms
The Patrick Montgomery Collection, Object No 2017.936
LL/104088
(Patrick Montgomery, 2 September 2020) Robert Howlett (1831-1858) rose to prominence while working at the Photographic Institution at ?168 New Bond Street, London?, a leading establishment for the promotion of photography through exhibitions, publications, and commissions. In 1857 he was hired by The Illustrated Times to document the construction of the world's largest steamship, SS Great Eastern. The resulting images, including his famous iconic portrait of the ship’s designer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, were first published as woodcut engravings.
William Harrison (1812-1860) was a British merchant navy officer selected by the directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Co. out of two hundred competitors to take the command of the ship, but tragically drowned in Southampton waters in January 1860, before the ship's maiden voyage.
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