a Large Victorian Maritime Photographic ships portrait of RMS Garth Castle off Gravesend by F.C. Gould, c.1880s.
the photographic ships portrait depicts " r.m.s. garth castle "at her mooring on the River Thames off gravesend reach, with the iconic tilbury hotel visible in the background. Dating from the 1880s or 1890s, this original period photographic print is presented on its large 325mm x190mm presentation-grade photographer’s mount. the mount has gilt edges with the name of the ship "R.M.S. Garth Castle" printed directly onto the face of the mount below the ship portrait, with he photographers name and address either side. the photographers lable is affixed to the reverse of the mount.
The "Garth Castle "(3,537 gross tons) was built in 1880 by John Elder & Co., Glasgow, for Sir Donald Currie’s famed Castle Mail Packets Co. (later Union-Castle Line). She served the UK-to-South Africa route and was notably requisitioned as a military transport ship during the Boer War before being sold in 1901.
The portrait is by frederick charles gould ( 10 harmer street gravesend ) one of the late 19th century's most celebrated marine photographers. Gould’s studio documented the finest liners, clippers, and warships navigating the Thames. His surviving original prints are highly collectible, with the bulk of his original glass plate negatives preserved in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
