Aurora

Pen-and-ink sketch with wash of a three-masted vessel being re-rigged. The vessel is tethered to a sheer hulk with a large crane for raising and lowering masts. The drawing is inscribed in the top right corner ‘Aurora’, identifying the three-masted vessel as HMS ‘Aurora’ (formerly ‘Clorinde’). It appears to date from the period 1826–28, when the ‘Aurora’ was stationed in the Caribbean under the command of Captain (later Rear-Admiral) Charles Austen. This drawing – along with three others also depicting the ‘Aurora’ (ZBB0370–1 and ZBB0373) – came to the Museum with a collection of sketches by naval officer Aiskew Paffard Hollis (see ZBB0352–69 and ZBB0374–84). However, the four ‘Aurora’ drawings are not consistent with Hollis’s style and date from after retirement from active service. It may be that Hollis received these drawings as a gift from his nephew, Lieutenant (later Captain) Joseph Paffard Dickson Larcom (1795–1850), who was serving on the ‘Aurora’ in 1826–28.