Robert Salmon (1775-1848)
PROPERTY SOLD TO BENEFIT THE VIRGINIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Robert Salmon (1775-1848)

The Holyhead Semaphore Station of 1826

細節
Robert Salmon (1775-1848)
The Holyhead Semaphore Station of 1826
oil on panel
19 5/8 x 30 ½ in. (49.8 x 77.4 cm.)
來源
Ross Whittier, Boston, Massachusetts, by 1967.
Estate of the above.
Private collection, Richmond, Virginia.
Bequest to the present owner from the above.
出版
"A Selection of Paintings by Robert Salmon, 19th Century Marine Artist," The American Neptune, Pictorial Supplement XI, 1969, pl. XX, illustrated (dated circa 1832).
展覽
Lincoln, Massachusetts, DeCordova Museum, Robert Salmon: The First Major Exhibition, March-May 1967, no. 84 (as South Stack Lighthouse and Signal Station).

拍品專文

According to A.S. Davidson, the recognized expert on the artist: "Although favorably situated on a promontory overlooking the Irish Sea and South Stack, the early Holyhead signal stations suffered from the disadvantage that messages were forwarded to Liverpool by courier and did not arrive until the next day. As Liverpool prospered, the Dock Board Trustees decided to bridge the 70 mile gap with a chain of 11 intercommunicating semaphore stations. Completed in 1826, the transmission time was reduced to five minutes! Salmon commemorates this widely acclaimed technical achievement, with an aesthetically appealing portrayal of the enlarged and updated station with its semaphore arms mounted on the short mast and the tall flag pole allowing the station to 'speak' to passing ships using traditional flag hoists. The new Holyhead-Liverpool Telegraph proved a huge success and was the busiest and most enduring system of its kind in Great Britain."

We would like to thank A.S. Davidson for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.

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