Genre:

Illustration, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct.

Illustrators:

C H B, pseud.  [Charles H Bennett] *

Subjects:

Military Technology, Steamships, War, Politics

    A representation of the activity surrounding the launch of Coles's turret-ship from Portsmouth Dockyard. Each image has a caption which is written in pseudo-Middle English. In the centre sits a smiling Cole on his 'Tvrret Shyppe'. Beneath his ships sit four lords of the Admiralty 'tvrning their backs' on Cole: they look worried by his activities—an allusion to the Admiralty's resistance to Coles's turret-ship. On the right hand side, several ships are seen carrying giant cannon balls and gunpowder, while on the left the passengers of a pleasure yacht are crushed by a cannon ball fired from one of the ships. Several people stand on a pier observing this activity through telescopes. At the bottom, several smaller vessels are seen carrying such dangerous substances as 'Gvn Cotton and Nitro-Glycerin', and 'Lvcifere Matches'.