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Sailing to the Sandwich Islands

Courtesy of a private collector | All Rights Reserved

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Date

21 April 1849

Artist

Robert Elwes (1819-1878)

Collection

Private Collection

Description

The "Inconstant" having sailed to California with gold-rush seekers, Elwes accepts a passage on HMS Amphitrite from Callao for the Sandwich Islands (The name given to the Hawaiian Islands by Captain Cook) "The distance in a straight line for Callao to the Sandwich Islands is 5120 miles, and in the whole voyage we did not once see land or even a single sail".
This is a page from a unique leather-bound volume of Robert Elwes’ travelogue 'A Sketcher's Tour Round the World', first published 1854, (see page 180 for corresponding passage).
The book contains the printed text of the manuscript but remarkably, the monochrome wash illustrations are hand painted by Elwes. The book bears a handwritten inscription ‘Mary F Elwes from her affect. husband Robert Elwes Jan 25 1878’, dated after Robert Elwes became ill at Congham, his Norfolk home. On 28th January 1878 , their youngest daughter Violet noted in her diary: “Papa much worse”. Less than three months later, Robert Elwes died on 17th April aged 58.

Image Licence

All Rights Reserved

Image Credit

Courtesy of a private collector

Location

Hawaii, USA

Country

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Seascapes
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Category

Landscapes & Seascapes

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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform