Sailing vessels in harbour thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 353

Sailing vessels in harbour

Photograph
ca. 1845 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This scene of ships in harbour is an early example of the calotype process, a paper negative process. Invented by William Henry Fox Talbot during the 1830, it was the beginning of the negative positive process still in use today. The photographer, Calvert Jones, was introduced to the process by a cousin of Talbot and by close friends who lived near to Jones in South Wales.

.The huge wooden hulls of the ships dominate this scene at the old Bristol harbour. The stern of one ship and the prow of the other are visually fused together, linked by the dark taut lines of rigging and a brightly lit bowsprit, which protrudes almost into the hull of the adjacent ship.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSailing vessels in harbour (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Salt paper print from calotype negative
Brief description
'Sailing vessels in harbour', salted paper print from calotype negative, Calvert Richard Jones, ca.1845
Physical description
Close up of two sailing ships -the stern of one and the prow of the other -in harbour. Bristol cathedral, with its castellated and pinnacled walls, provides the background. The print is a deep purple-brown with good tonal range and contrast. There is a narrow band of fading to all edges of the print and notably to the bottom left corner, where there is also a finger mark.
Dimensions
  • Height: 17.4cm
  • Width: 22.5cm
Gallery label
Calvert Richard Jones, Sailing Vessels in Harbor 1843-1847
Object history
Calvert Richard Jones was one of the first to learn of W.H. F Talbot's photographic discoveries in the late 1830s through Talbot's friends and relations who lived near to Jones in South Wales. Jones subsequently became one of the few Britons to produce a substantial body of calotypes in Britain and abroad. His work stands out in the early development of photography because of his ability to fuse his technical skill with the influence of his training as a watercolorist.

Jones understood the importance of textures and surfaces and the use of light. In this image a medley of taut ropes and timber, shadow and silhouette create a dynamic fusion between the prow and stern of two sailing vessels. This quay side scene of Bristol's medieval harbour captures a moment from a previous era.
Historical context
The ships are in Green's Dock, Bristol, a dry dock on Canons Marsh that ran westwards from the centre of St Augustin's Reach (the old harbour- a thirteenth century channel dug from the R. Frome). Green's Dock was filled in the 1880s for quay side improvements. The building behind is Bristol Cathedral.
Information: Bristol's Museums.
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
This scene of ships in harbour is an early example of the calotype process, a paper negative process. Invented by William Henry Fox Talbot during the 1830, it was the beginning of the negative positive process still in use today. The photographer, Calvert Jones, was introduced to the process by a cousin of Talbot and by close friends who lived near to Jones in South Wales.

.The huge wooden hulls of the ships dominate this scene at the old Bristol harbour. The stern of one ship and the prow of the other are visually fused together, linked by the dark taut lines of rigging and a brightly lit bowsprit, which protrudes almost into the hull of the adjacent ship.
Collection
Accession number
PH.41-1983

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdAugust 4, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest