The Paying-out Machinery in the Stern of the Great Eastern
| The Paying-out Machinery in the Stern of the Great Eastern | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Robert Charles Dudley |
| Year | 1865 |
| Medium | Watercolor and gouache on graphite |
| Dimensions | 17.2 cm × 26.7 cm (6.8 in × 10.5 in) |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City |
The Paying-out Machinery in the Stern of the Great Eastern is a watercolor by British artist Robert Charles Dudley. The work is available in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1]
Description
[edit]
Dudley's watercolor depicts a large piece of cable-laying machinery on the rear deck of the iron sail steamer SS Great Eastern. The machinery was used to lay (also referred to as "paying out"[1]) the first transatlantic undersea cable. Upon its completion in 1866, the cable allowed telegraph messages to be sent across the Atlantic; these took minutes to travel between North America and Europe as opposed to the 10 days it took for contemporary mail carriers to make the crossing.[1][2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "metmuseum.org". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
- ^ "SS Great Eastern and the story of the transatlantic telegraph cable". BT.com. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
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