1857: Etching of the Great Leviathan. Decorative. Color Lithographed.

Size of the actual print: 8.5 in. x 5.8 in., 11 in. x 8.8 in. including margins.

Blue color has been added to the etching by lithography print. The original looks better than the image on screen.

In August 1857 the vessel was named Leviathan. But it was another four months before she was renamed Great Eastern and finally entered the water.

A shipbuilders' superstition says that any delay between the naming ceremony and the launching of a ship brings bad luck. This was certainly the case with Brunel's vessel.

By 11 November 1857 the Great Eastern was ready to be launched and 10,000 people arrived to witness the event. The champagne bottle was smashed and then disaster struck. As the ship began to move, an accident on one of the great chain drums killed a workman and injured five others. The ship had only moved 1.5 metres (four feet)!

Item ID: col7363