The Atlantic Telegraph - photo 1

The Atlantic Telegraph

Lot 70
16.06.2023 16:00UTC -05:00
Classic
Sold
$ 5 040
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUSA, New York
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 965097
Lot 70 | The Atlantic Telegraph
Estimate value
$ 2 000 – 3 000
The Atlantic Telegraph
W.H. Russell and R.C. Dudley, 1866
DUDLEY, Robert Charles (1826-1909), illustrator. RUSSELL, W.H. (1827-1907).The Atlantic Telegraph. London: Day & Son, [1866].

Deluxe issue of this lavishly illustrated commemoration of the successful laying of the Atlantic cable in 1866, with the plates hand-colored on card. Laying telegraphic cable beneath the Atlantic allowed messages to speed back and forth between North America and Europe in minutes, rather than the ten or twelve days it took to cross the ocean by steamer. It is among the very greatest of 19th-century technological achievements. The author of this book was William Howard Russell, a famous war correspondent with the London Times; Russell was the only journalist allowed to travel with Field's expedition. Several of Dudley's plates show the Great Eastern, then the largest steamship in the world, which Field engaged to lay the second and third Atlantic cables; other plates illustrate the laying of the first Atlantic cable, the geographic sites of the cable's endpoints, recovery of lost cables, etc. Origins of Cyberspace 189.

Folio (420 x 292mm). 26 hand-colored tinted lithographed plates each mounted to card, including the title-page; one lithographed chart (title and following text leaf detached and laid in, a little edge-chipping to card, marginal spots to title). Original purple and green cloth, elaborately gilt-stamped on front cover, paper onlay on front cover representing a cross-section of the Atlantic cable (well-rubbed, rebacked). Provenance: The Royal Cruising Club, bequest of Dunbar Kilburn (bookplate).W.H. Russell
Place of origin:Northern Europe, Europe, United Kingdom
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
20 Rockefeller Plaza
10020 New York
USA
Preview
16.06.2023
Phone +1 212 636 2000
Fax +1 212 636 4930
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase
Shipping Postal service
Courier service
pickup by yourself
Payment methods Wire Transfer
Business hoursBusiness hours
Mo 09:30 – 17:00   
Tu 09:30 – 17:00   
We 09:30 – 17:00   
Th 09:30 – 17:00   
Fr 09:30 – 17:00   
Sa closed
Su closed

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.