Leonard Bentley
Alexandra
This is a print which appears to have been cut from a book, the artist is William Stephen Tomkin who in 1898 was employed by Waterlow & Sons, the publishers of the print. The company produced banknotes, stock certificates and postage stamps for many countries in its 200-year-old history, the company was dissolved in 2009 after being taken over by the De La Rue Company in the early 1960s. Tomkin lived until 1940 producing marine watercolours, he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1909. The print shows the view looking west across the River Thames from the Albert Embankment, the subject is the paddle steamer “Alexandra” with the Palace of Westminster in the background, the artist has taken the liberty of showing the area of the Victoria Tower Gardens as being embanked, at this time there were still industrial units occupying the site and it was not embanked until ten years later. The “Alexandra” was one of the ABC boats built for the Thames Steamboat Company in 1898, the other boats were the Boadicea and Cleopatra, all were built by the Thames Ironworks at Blackwall. They were to remain in service until 1912 when the company ceased operating. This watercolour may have been commissioned by the company to celebrate the first trip the boat made in the summer of 1898.
Alexandra
This is a print which appears to have been cut from a book, the artist is William Stephen Tomkin who in 1898 was employed by Waterlow & Sons, the publishers of the print. The company produced banknotes, stock certificates and postage stamps for many countries in its 200-year-old history, the company was dissolved in 2009 after being taken over by the De La Rue Company in the early 1960s. Tomkin lived until 1940 producing marine watercolours, he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1909. The print shows the view looking west across the River Thames from the Albert Embankment, the subject is the paddle steamer “Alexandra” with the Palace of Westminster in the background, the artist has taken the liberty of showing the area of the Victoria Tower Gardens as being embanked, at this time there were still industrial units occupying the site and it was not embanked until ten years later. The “Alexandra” was one of the ABC boats built for the Thames Steamboat Company in 1898, the other boats were the Boadicea and Cleopatra, all were built by the Thames Ironworks at Blackwall. They were to remain in service until 1912 when the company ceased operating. This watercolour may have been commissioned by the company to celebrate the first trip the boat made in the summer of 1898.