Boats and capstan on beach
Photograph
ca 1853 (photographed)
ca 1853 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A group of three clinker built boats- two fishing boats with dropped masts and a dingy. The shadows fall to the right. The boats are beached on a shingle surface and the bow of a fourth boat is glismpsed to the right. The prows of the boats are registered 'NN', there is a name on the stern of the small boat. A distinctively designed wooden capstan stands in the forground, the central part with rounded top contains the socket for the handle, which lies across the beach between the capstan and the shadow of the smallest boat.
The corners of the print are cut and there is a watermark at the top edge of the paper:'Turner patent talbotype'.
The corners of the print are cut and there is a watermark at the top edge of the paper:'Turner patent talbotype'.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Title | Boats and capstan on beach (generic title) |
| Brief description | 19thC; Jones Calvert, Boats & capstan on a beach |
| Physical description | A group of three clinker built boats- two fishing boats with dropped masts and a dingy. The shadows fall to the right. The boats are beached on a shingle surface and the bow of a fourth boat is glismpsed to the right. The prows of the boats are registered 'NN', there is a name on the stern of the small boat. A distinctively designed wooden capstan stands in the forground, the central part with rounded top contains the socket for the handle, which lies across the beach between the capstan and the shadow of the smallest boat. The corners of the print are cut and there is a watermark at the top edge of the paper:'Turner patent talbotype'. |
| Object history | During the 1830s William Henry Fox Talbot invented a way of making paper negatives and from them multiple paper prints. In doing so, he laid the foundations of modern photography. Calvert Richard Jones learned of these developments in 1839 through a neighbour, who was a cousin of Talbot. Jones made many pictures in the West of England and South Wales, where he lived. He also travelled widely, making photographs on the continent. Jones' work stands out in the early development of photography because he was one of the first to apply a schooled artist's eye to the medium. Jones made many maritime photographs. This carefully framed group of three beached fishing boats is reminiscent of Jones' earlier watercolours and drawings. The distinctive wooden capstan and long turning handle, lying across the foreground, forms an integral part of the group. The triangular shape formed by the support at the left of the capstan, a shape which is echoed by the meeting of the handle meeting the shadow of the small boat, and by the dropped masts of the fishing boats. |
| Historical context | Despite the NN registration letters for Newhaven, East Sussex, on the bows of the fishing boats, the location of this shingle beach with its distinctive wooden capstan has been identified as Eastbourne (East Sussex) by NMM The type of Turner paper in the watermark was available during the 1850s.. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | PH.110-1983 |
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| Record created | July 17, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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