Calcutta Voyage of the Frigate Marlborough
England: c. 1900
Pen and ink and watercolor on paper, laid on board
19 x 24 inches, overall
Provenance: Mr. D. Farrow, A.B.A., Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, c. 1967
T. Pagano, Esq.,
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, c. 1977
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.
Calcutta Voyage of the Frigate Marlborough
Unique Original British Map, c. 1900
Unique Original British Map, c. 1900
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Unique original map of the voyages of the British Frigate Marlborough from England to India. The manuscript map shows Britain (outlined in pink), Africa (outlined in green), as well as portions of Europe (outlined in blue), the Middle East and India (outlined in yellow). The course of the Marlborough in 1865/1866 is plotted on the map (in black ink with date and other notations), from Southern England, through the Atlantic Ocean east of Africa, around the Cape of Southern Africa, on to Calcutta, and back. Later voyages, apparently of other British ships, up to 1888, from Britain to India via the shortened route to through the Suez Canal (which was opened in 1869), are also plotted on the map.
The map is decorated with two original illustrations of the Marlborough, one in full mast (titled "The 'Marlborough' 1400 Tons"), and one in rough seas (titled "The 'Marlborough' 30 May 1866"). It is also decorated with two inset hand-colored diagrams of flags - one of British Navy Signal Flags, the other of Merchant Service Signal Flags.
The map is important in documenting the voyage of a commercial British Frigate trading with India, and also for showing the history of navigation in the 3rd Quarter of the 19th century, significantly the use of the Suez Canal by later ships, reducing travel distance and time from England to Asia. The illustrations of the Marlborough and sea flags are particularly decorative.
Two letters from the National Maritime Museum, written to past owners of the map residing in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, detail the history of the Marlborough. According to these letters, based on entries in Lloyd's Register of Shipping, the Blackwall frigate Marlborough was built by Smith of Newcastle in 1846. She was 175.5 feet and 1,402 tons. From the time of construction to 1869, she belonged to T. & W. Smith of London, for whom she sailed to India and the East Indies. Lloyd's Register records a trip of the Marlborough to Calcutta, commenced August 29, 1865, corresponding to the dates plotted on the map. The last Lloyd's Register entry for the Marlborough is 1873, after which she became a coal hulk at Gilbralter, until broken up in 1888.