Photography

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern is a photograph taken by Robert Howlett in November 1857. It shows Brunel, the British engineer, during the troubled first attempt to launch the SS Great Eastern, by far the largest ship constructed to that date. Brunel stands before a drum of chain used during the vessel's launch while smoking a cigar. He carries his customary cigar case, his boots and trousers are muddy, and his waistcoat is askew. His pose has been described as casual and self-assured. Howlett's image has become iconic of the industrial era and the 19th century, and has been included in many published collections of photographs. It was widely reproduced at the time of the ship's launch in January 1858 and again after Brunel died in 1859.

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See also

• ▸Camera (magazine)
• ▸Amani Nature Reserve
• ▸James Van Der Zee

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.