* Daniell (William). An Elevated View of the New Docks & Warehouses now constructing on the Isle of Dogs near Limehouse for the reception & accommodation of Shipping in the West India Trade, representing the general appearance when finished, of that magnificent & truly national work, of which a great part, by the energy, spirit, & perseverance of the Directors appointed to superintend its execution, has been actually compleated in the short space of little more than two years from its commencement in Feby. 1800, insomuch that on the 27 of August 1802 the Thames was permitted to flow into the larger bason, which is 2600 feet in length containing an area of thirty acres; & two ships, the Henry Addington & Echo, being the first vessels admitted, were received amidst the shouts of an immense concourse of spectators assembled to behold a scene so highly interesting to every well-wisher to the prosperity & glory of his country. The Canal on the left, running parellel to the docks, is executing by the Corporation of London for the purpose of facilitating the navigation of the river, in affording an opportunity for Shipping to avoid its circuitous & dangerous course around the Isle of Dogs. A Work co-operating with the other in the same grand Object which is to give at once Activity & Security to the Commerce of the Metropolis, drawn, engraved and published by William Daniell, London, October 15th, 1802, soft-ground etching & aquatint with contemporary hand colouring, overall toning & minor spotting, 455 x 780 mm, together with: Brunswick Dock on the Thames at Blackwall. This noble bason was executed from the design & at the individual expense of John Perry Esq. & was chiefly intended for the accommodation & protection of the ships of the Honble. the East India Company. The whole excavation that contains about eight acres is divided into two parts (each having its distinct entrance) one of which is capable of receiving thirty of the largest East India ships, & the other an equal number of smaller vessels. This great & useful work was begun on the 2nd of March 1789 & the Dock was opened for the reception of Shipping on the 20th of Novr. 1790, drawn, engraved and published by William Daniell, London, October 20th, 1803, soft-ground etching & aquatint with contemporary hand colouring, overall toning & minor spotting, 455 x 780 mm, A View of the London Dock. This great national work, the primary object of which was to improve the port of London, besides affording extensive accommodation to shipping, provides equal security to the revenue & to commercial property. The space it occupies & enclosed by its boundary wall is upwards of forty-five acres. The Dock, containing twenty acres, is 1260 feet in length, & 960 in breadth, & three acres are covered by the entrance bason & locks. The Tobacco Warehouse at the east end of the Dock spreads over an area of four acres; beneath which, & consequently of the same extent are commodious vaults for the reception of Wine & Brandy, & the five stacks of Warehouses on the north side are objects no less striking from their magnitude & stability. The facility afforded to business by the spacious sheds & excellent Machinery, together with every requisite convenience, render this vast mercantile concern one of the most complete in respect to utility, as it is in appearance one of the noblest works of the kind in the World. This Dock, begun in June 1802, was opened for Shipping on the 29th of January 1805, & its expence, including the purchase of ground with a view to its future extension eastward, has been upwards of two millions sterling, drawn, engraved and published William Daniell, October 1st, 1808, soft-ground etching & aquatint with contemporary hand colouring, slight overall toning & minor spotting, 455 x 780 mm, A View of the East India Docks. The East India Docks are solely for the accommodation of Shipping employed by the English East India Company. They consist of two spacious basons; on the quays of the largest of which all the produce imported by the Company from the East is unloaded; & in the other all Vessels that are outward bound receive their cargoes. The dimensions of the former is 1410 feet in length, by 560 in breadth, & will contain eighty four Ships of eight hundred tons each; the latter is 780 feet in length, by 520 in breadth, & the depth of both is 26 feet: the whole superficial extent of water, including the entrance, being thirty acres & a half. The smaller bason is an enlargement of one formerly in the possession of Mr Perry, but the other was constructed by the East India Dock Company; & was begun in the month of August 1803 & Open'd in Augst. 1806. The East India Docks may be considered as placed at the eastern limits of the City of London. A chain of connected streets already extend to the Village of Blackwall, adjoining to which these great marine depots are situated. Many new streets are already begun in its vicinity, the whole plain is scattered with buildings, used either as Dwellings of Manufactories, & the several newly constructed roads leading to these & the West India Docks will doubtless at no distant period be the future chief streets of this part of the British Metropolis, drawn, engraved and published William Daniell, October 1st, 1808, soft-ground etching & aquatint with contemporary hand colouring, slight overall toning & minor spotting, 455 x 780 mm, each mounted, with matching frames, glazed, bearing the Armytage Clarke Gallery label to verso of eachQty: (4)NOTESTHE DAVID SMITH PRINT COLLECTION PART I CIVIL ENGINEERING, TRANSPORT & TOPOGRAPHICAL PANORAMAS Part of a fine set of six birds-eye views of London Docks produced by the English landscape artist William Daniell (1769–1837). The views show the new docks on the Thames, built from 1800 as part of a scheme to totally overhaul and modernise shipping in London. Trade imports, both domestic and foreign, dramatically increased over the 18th century and to accommodate this the docks of London needed to be expanded and upgraded. Architects and engineers bid to remodel the city’s docks, each of their designs featuring the latest technological developments.
