Paddle Steamer at Ryde Pier, England's First Pleasure Pier, Brannon, 1828

An antique engraved view of Ryde, Isle of Wight, with the long timber pier running out into the Solent, drawn and engraved by George Brannon and published at Wotton on the eighteenth of August 1828. A paddle steamer lies against the pier head with smoke at her funnel, rowing boats are drawn up on the sand, and passengers move along the deck of the pier toward the town, which rises in terraces behind. Ryde pier opened in 1814 and was the first seaside pleasure pier in England, so Brannon is engraving a genuine piece of transport history at work. The steam packet is the detail collectors look for: it places the scene in the first decade of regular steam crossings between Portsmouth and the island.

The view belongs to Vectis Scenery, George Brannon's series of original and select views of the Isle of Wight, printed and published by the engraver himself at Wotton Common on the island in 1829 and sold by the principal local booksellers. Brannon drew the subjects on the spot and cut the copper plates himself, so draughtsman and engraver are one man throughout. The volume's own advertisement leaf describes a first series of twenty-eight views with a map and letter-press, with a further twenty views issued separately as a Sequel. The technique is line engraving on copper. The views were issued uncolored, as line engravings on white paper, and this impression is uncolored.

Early views that show working steam alongside sail are collected in their own right, and this plate puts a paddle steamer, a pier and a growing resort town into one image at the moment all three were new. Ryde was built almost entirely in the first half of the nineteenth century as the island's gateway, and Brannon records the arrival point that every visitor used. It appeals equally to Isle of Wight collectors, to pier enthusiasts and to anyone drawn to early steam navigation. Hang it with the second Ryde plate from the same volume to show the pier and the town together.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom and right edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.