About this Item
Pen and ink wash drawing on paper, 4.25 x 7.25 inches, laid on to card, mounted, framed in gilt and glazed, overall 11.5 x 14 inches. Extracted from an album of sketches by Henry Moses dated 1843-1844. It depicts a channel packet, flags at mastheads, peaks and stern, leaving Folkestone Harbour and passing the head of the South Quay. The vessel is two-masted with fore-and-aft sails, here furled, sporting an early, upright funnel with a decorative cap. An awning is stretched from the mainmast to the taffrail for the benefit of the passengers. The quay head, with its mast and crow's nest, sits solidly atop a foundation of huge rocks and a number of watchers study the outgoing ship with some interest, particularly as it appears that a passenger is performing a jig on the paddlebox. tag Henry Moses, 1782-1870, was highly regarded as a draughtsman and engraver and was known for, among many other works, several series of views of shipping, and a few coastal views. It is not clear how his marine interest developed but he used outline engraving to great effect in capturing maritime life and activities in his Sketches of Shipping (1824), where accurately drawn ships are set in suitable port landscapes. Similarly his Picturesque Views of Ramsgate (1817) includes busily populated images of ships in harbour. Prior to the arrival of the railway at Folkestone there had, for some long time, been an intermittent service of sailing ships and small steamers plying to Boulogne. The South Eastern Railway then made arrangements with the New Commercial Steam Packet Company that, when the line was opened, there should be a regular steamer service to connect with the trains. [Rixon Bucknall] The SER reached Folkestone in December 1843 and, having acquired Folkestone Harbour, opened Folkestone East station to serve the burgeoning cross-channel traffic. The packet service between Folkestone and Boulogne had commenced on the first of August 1843 and the inaugural crossing, from Boulogne to Folkestone, was made by the paddle-steamer 'City of Boulogne', built in 1838. She arrived at Folkestone at 12.30 p.m., tricolour and Union flags flying from her mastheads, and carrying numerous influential guests to attend a banquet given by the Mayor of Folkestone and the railway company. At about the same time the 'William Wallace' left for Boulogne; later in the day 'Emerald' arrived from Boulogne with 142 passengers and officials. This drawing is beautifully executed and highly detailed - the wash achieving great depth - and reflects the crispness and clarity of his engravings. This is one of two similar drawings purchased by us; this showing the arrival of a ship at Folkestone and the other the departure from the same. Given Moses' skill and knowledge of shipping it can be said, considering differences between the two drawings, that the two vessels are not one and the same, coming and going. It is also reasonable to infer that the occasion of the inauguration of the regular packet service would be of sufficient interest to Moses that he would record the event. Thus, this may be a record of the departure of 'William Wallace' or, perhaps, 'Emerald' on 1st August 1843. Our researches have found no known depictions of the occasion.
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