physical analysis of the core reference collection of dated first … · physical analysis of the...

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THE WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST OF

AUSTRALIA

Physical analysis of the core reference collection of dated First Fleet artworks

Report by - Kate Hughes - 2015 Churchill Fellow

I understand that the Churchill Trust may publish this Report, either in hard copy or on the internet or both, and consent to such publication.

I indemnify the Churchill Trust against any loss, costs or damages it may suffer arising out of any claim or proceedings made against the Trust in respect of or arising out of the publication of any Report submitted to the Trust and which the Trust places on a website for access over the internet.

I also warrant that my Final Report is original and does not infringe the copyright of any person, or contain anything which is, or the incorporation of which into the Final Report is, actionable for defamation, a breach of any privacy law or obligation, breach of confidence, contempt of court, passing-off or contravention of any other private right or of any law.

Signed

Kate Hughes

Dated

18/8/2016

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Index

Introduction 3

Acknowledgments 3

Executive Summary 4

Programme 5

Methodology 6

Microscopy 6

Tracing Watermarks 6

X-ray Fluorescence analysis of gilded watercolours 7

The Raper Collection 8

The Collection 8

Condition Summary 8

Papers in the collection 8

Laid papers in the collection 8

Wove papers in the collection 13

X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Raper Collection 13

The Port Jackson Painter Collection 16

The Collection 16

Condition Summary 16


The Watling Collection 17

The Collection 17

Condition Summary 18

Evidence of previous album 18

Thomas Watling’s technique 18


X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Watling Collection 24

Examination of Indian Company Drawings 25

The Raffles Collection 26

Marquis of Wellesley Collection 26

Conclusions and Recommendations 27

Bibliography 28

Image credits 28

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Introduction

The Natural History Museum in London holds internationally significant collections of drawings made

in the first years of the New South Wales colony. These drawings depict the settlement, the indigenous

people, ethnographic objects, flora and fauna. They represent a direct link to Australian colonisation

in 1788 and the people who arrived on the First Fleet. Prior to this project no survey of the artist

materials and papers in the Natural History Museum’s First Fleet collections had been undertaken.

These collections are a core reference set of watercolours which uniquely for the time contain a large

amount of signed and dated watercolours. The aim of the project was to document the materials in

the collections to enable the discovery of any connections between the papers, watermarks and artist

materials of the Natural History Museum’s First Fleet collections and collections in Australia.

Eight weeks of work were undertaken to survey the artist materials in the Natural History Museum’s

First Fleet collections. The collections are the Raper Collection, The Port Jackson Painter Collection

and the Watling Collection, these collections total 649 watercolours. Survey information was entered

into a table capturing paper type, watermark, description of the media and the condition. Watermarks

in the papers were traced to create a 1:1 scale record of every watermark in the collection for

comparison between the collections and for future comparison to related First Fleet collections in

Australia. X-ray fluorescence analysis was used to identify gilding materials found in the Raper and

Watling Collections. This analysis builds on previous research into the use of gilding in the State Library

of New South Wales and National Library of Australia’s First Fleet natural history watercolour

collections. Gilded Indian Company paintings at the British Library were examined to create a

comparison point for the gilding found in the First Fleet drawings. Supplementary research into paper

mills and the trade of paper in the late 18th century was also undertaken at the British Library.

This survey has created a huge data set about the papers, media and deterioration of these collections.

This gives a greater understanding of the collections themselves including how they were made and

how they have changed over time. This data can now be used to discover connections between the

papers and artist materials in the Natural History Museum’s collections and First Fleet collections in

Australia. This ongoing comparative work will give a greater understanding of how artists worked in

the early years of the New South Wales colony.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the generous support of the staff at the Natural History Museum. Andrea

Hart and Konstantina Konstinidou for sharing their wealth of knowledge on the collections and Helen

Plethers and the entire Reading Room team for their continual assistance. I would also like to

acknowledge the State Library of New South Wales staff who supported me in the research that lead

up to this project and in the pre and post fellowship work: Louise Anemaat, Richard Neville, Nichola

Parshall, Anna Brooks and all my Collection Care colleagues. An additional acknowledgement must go

to Alisa Bunbury of the National Gallery of Victoria who has kindly supported my research. The

preliminary research that lead to this project was funded through the Garling Bequest and State

Library of New South Wales Foundation.

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Executive Summary

The Natural History Museum in London holds internationally significant collections of drawings made in the early years of the New South Wales colony. These collections collectively referred to as the First Fleet Collections include the Raper Collection, the Port Jackson Painter Collection and the Watling Collection, a total of 649 watercolours. The aim of the project was to document the materials in the collections to enable the discovery of any connections between the papers, watermarks and artist materials of the Natural History Museum’s First Fleet collections and collections in Australia. The media, paper and condition of the drawings in the collections was surveyed over a period of eight weeks. The methods used to capture the information reported were visual assessment, digital photography, portable microscopy, the tracing of watermarks and X ray fluorescence analysis. The tracing of watermarks has created a 1:1 scale record of the watermarks which will allow them to be compared to watermarks in Australian collections. The Raper Collection is a collection of watercolours by Midshipman George Raper who arrived in New South Wales in 1788. He regularly signed and dated his watercolours making them an excellent reference point for materials comparisons. Surveying the paper stocks found in the collection revealed a much greater use of Dutch papers by George Raper than by other artist’s in the Natural History Museum’s First Fleet collections. Gold leaf was identified in the collection and the possible use of brass leaf. The Port Jackson Painter Collection is a collection of 69 drawings by an unknown artist or artists. The condition of the drawings indicates that they were in a bound format for a long duration of time. The uniformity of paper stocks found and the frequency of media transfer observed indicate that they were drawn into a bound volume rather than bound after drawing. The majority of the drawings have been drawn on the left side of the bound edge. The Watling Collection is a collection of 488 watercolours just under a quarter of which are signed by convict artist Thomas Watling. The remaining drawings are attributed to the Port Jackson Painter but they are in a number of different styles indicating that there are multiple artists responsible for the drawings. The condition of the collection gives some clues as to the album they were previously secured into along with evidence of an earlier album and possibly bindings. A huge variety of papers were found in the collection mostly from English paper mills. Finding matching watermarks in the collection allows a new point of entry for researchers in examining a collection as large and diverse as the Watling collection. Gold media was identified by XRF analysis in two unsigned watercolours in the collection.

Two collections of Indian Company natural history paintings with gilding were examined at the British Library. This was to provide a comparison point for the use of gilding in natural history watercolours, looking at how the gilding material was applied.

This data will allow researchers a new way to explore these large collections. The watermark tracings allow the paper stocks to be compared to those found in Australian collections. This work creates a network of interconnected collections building evidence towards which collections were made in the colony. Access to the watermark tracings needs to be made available to researchers, this may be possible through digital publishing. The long term benefit of this research will be in the enriched understanding of the artistic community of colonial New South Wales.

Kate Hughes Conservator, Collection Care State Library New South Wales Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02) 9273 1683 [email protected]

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Programme

London - Natural History Museum London

Examined the Raper Collection

Examined the Port Jackson Painter

Examined the Watling Collection

X-ray Fluorescence analysis of gilded watercolours

Key contacts at the Natural History Museum were:

Andrea Hart Library Special Collection Manager

Konstantina Konstantinidou Paper Conservator

Helen Pethers Readers Services Librarian

London – British Library

Undertook supplementary research into papermaking mills

Examined Raffles Collection

Examined Wellesley Collections

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Methodology

Visual Assessment

Photographs of the front and where possible the back of each drawing were taken. This is essential

for recording detail along edges or on the back that may not be visible in the online catalogue record,

especially damages which are often concentrated at edges. Visual assessment included assessing the

type of media used, how it was applied and how it has deteriorated along with the characteristics of

the supporting paper. Small details such as edge decoration, discolouration of white media and

discolouration of the verso in relation to specific media can reveal a great amount of information

about the materials and history of an item.

Microscopy

Digital micrographs were taken using a

portable digital microscope. This allows fine

application details and deterioration issues to

be examined. This was of especial use in

examining the application of gilding materials

on drawings in the collections. Microscopy also

allowed the layering of different colours to be

more closely observed as well as how different

artists built up tonal modulation. This allows for

comparison of stylistic details between

individual drawings in the collections at the

Natural History Museum and back in Australia.

Tracing Watermarks

Papers in the 18th century were all handmade the paper sheet

was formed from paper pulp by a vatman using a mould and a

deckle. There were two main types of paper making moulds, laid

paper moulds which were made of wired forming laid and chain

lines visible in the resulting paper and wove paper mould which

used a woven mesh to form a smooth paper. Watermarks are

Watling drawing no.126 50x magnification

Example of laid paper mould

watermark

Tracing a watermark in Watling drawing no. 14

Photo credit: Andrea Hart

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wire designs that are sewn onto paper making moulds, this forms a less dense area in the sheet of

paper visible with transmitted light. A full size handmade paper sheet will usually have a mark and

countermark with the name of the paper maker and a symbol design that may be unique to the

papermaker or a generic design that indicates paper size or quality. Because watermarks are hand

made out of wire each is unique even if it is of the same design. This makes it possible to identify

papers that were formed on the same mould. The method used to do this was to trace each new

design observed in the collections using a light sheet under the paper to make the watermark visible.

A design such as Britannia which was used generically by many papermakers was found in huge

variation, in cases such as these each variant found of a design motif is referred to as a version.

Watermarks also assist in dating works on paper though imprecisely, in April 1794 Britain introduced

legislation that a date must be included in paper watermarks. This was widely adopted by

papermakers throughout Britain and Europe. The dates were only updated irregularly, usually when a

mould needed replacing. The date in a watermark can only indicate that it was not made before that

date as the paper may also have been used years after it was made.

X-ray Fluorescence analysis of gilded watercolours

Analysis of the elemental composition of gilding materials in the collections was performed at the

Natural History Museum with the assistance of conservators Rob Mcleod and Konstantina

Konstantinidou. A Bruker Tracer portable XRF spectrometer was used. This investigation was informed

by similar analysis undertaken at the State Library of New South Wales to investigate the use of gilding

materials by First Fleet artists. This previous research found that gilding material was often used on

multiple versions of the same bird or fish by different artists. This informed the selection of

watercolours chosen for analysis.

X-ray fluorescence analysis of Raper drawing no. 33 Fish of Port Jackson

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The Raper Collection

The Collection

George Raper was born around 1769 in Yorkshire and joined the royal navy in 1783. He joined the

HMS Sirius in December of 1786 as an Able Seaman. After departing with the HMS Sirius on the 13th

of May 1787 from Portsmouth for Botany Bay he was promoted to Midshipman somewhere between

Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. It is likely that Raper was trained in the draughtsmanship and map

making skills required to be an officer on board HMS Sirius by his Captain John Hunter and Lieutenant

William Bradley. Sir Joseph Banks had encouraged all officers with an interest in natural history to

record their observations of the flora and fauna through drawing and writing. George Raper spent five

years in the colony which was broken up by a resupply voyage on HMS Sirius to Cape Town in October

1788 and his later stranding on Norfolk Island for 11 months after the wrecking of the HMS Sirius on

a reef.

The collection first appears in the historical record when it was purchased around 1877 by collectors

Frederick Du Cane Godman and Osbert Salvin from an unknown source, possibly Raper’s descendants.

The collection of drawings was presented to the Natural History Museum in 1962 by Godman’s

daughter Eva. All but 12 of the 74 drawings in the collection have been signed and dated by George

Raper. Drawing no. 74 is a 20th century copy of no. 73.

Condition Summary

All of the papers in the collection had been trimmed at some point with no original edges intact. There

is frequently damage to the edges of the drawings including creases, tears and losses, these have all

been repaired by lining. Pink staining and thin areas of paper suggest that the collection has been

affected by mould at some point. All the drawings had been lined with heavy weight Japanese tissue

obscuring the verso of all the drawings. Many of the papers have metal inclusions from their

manufacture, these have caused corrosion staining in the drawings. Metallic media has been used in

the collection, it appears to have been applied as a leaf metal which is cracking and has flaked off in

parts, see section on analysis of metallic media for more detail.

Papers in the collection

Surveying the paper stocks found in the collection revealed a much greater use of Dutch papers by

George Raper than by other artist’s in the Natural History Museum’s First Fleet collections. This may

be due to his being on the resupply voyage to Cape Town, a Dutch port town or it may suggest that

naval officers had a seperate supply of paper. He was using Dutch papers before the resupply voyage.

Laid papers in the collection

J HONIG & ZOONEN - (Beehive)

The J Honig & Zoonen watermark was used by Jacob Honig and sons,

Dutch paper makers from a long line of papermakers operating paper

mills since 1662. At least one of their mills was known as the Golden

Beehive. This name comes from Honig being close to honing the

Dutch word for honey. The beehive is the countermark to J HONIG &

ZOONEN.

Tracing of the beehive countermark

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In the Raper collection J HONIG and ZOONEN appear separately at the edges of the sheets of paper

and the beehive countermark is regularly cut in half. This indicates that Raper regularly cut the full

sheets into quarters or received it already cut into quarters.

J HONIG version 1

Title No. Date Dimensions

“Entrance of Port Jackson from a boat close under the South

Head”

15 1789 32.4 x 49.5 cm

“Chief Settlement of Norfolk Island April 1790 24 1790 32.4 x 49.3 cm

“Reptile of Port Jackson” 42 1789 31 x 47.1 cm

“Flower of Port Jackson” 48 1789 47.2 x 32.7 cm

“Hawke of Port Jackson” 53 1789 48.5 x 33.6 cm

"Birds of Norfolk Island" 69 1790 48.4 x 32.5 cm

“Ground-bird of Lord Howe Island” 73 1790 48.7 x 31.9 cm

J HONIG version 2


“Fish of Rio de Janeiro” 35 1789 32.4 x 48.8 cm

ZOONEN version 1


“View of the City of Batavia from the Anchorage in the

Roades, the church bearing S.S.W. off shore 1 ½ miles”

31 1791 32.1 x 48.4 cm

“Fish of Port Jackson” 47 1789 31.8 x 48 cm

“Ground Bird of Lord Howe Island” 71 1790 49.1 x 32.4 cm

ZOONEN version 2


“Entrance of Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) from the Anchorage

without”

8 1790 32.6 x 48.5 cm

"Square Island, a little within the entrace of Rio de Janeiro"

and "Island dos Enxchados in ro. Janeiro"

9 [1789] 31.4 x 48 cm

“Cobras, a fortified Island close to the city in Rio de Janeiro” 10 1789 32.7 x 48.2 cm

“views of Norfolk, Phillip and Nepean Islands” 21 1790 32.3 x 47.8 cm

“Bird of Port Jackson” 39 1789 45.5 x 32.8 cm

“Birds of Port Jackson” 43 1790 47.6 x 32.8 cm

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“Cockatoo of Port Jackson” 59 1789 49.5 x 31.7 cm

“Bird and Flower of Port Jackson” 63 1789 45.9 x 32.1 cm

“Birds and Flowers of Port Jackson” 66 1789 46.5 x 33.2 cm

ZOONEN version 3


“Flowers and Paroquet of Port Jackson” 50 1789 47.9 x 32.4 cm

Beehive version 1


“View of the Needles” 5 1789 31.6 x 47.6 cm

“Views of land in the neighbourhood of Port Jackson” 17 Between

1788 and

1791

31.4 x 48.2 cm

“View of the West Side of Sidney Bay, Norfolk Island,

shewing the Method by which the crew and provisions were

saved from the wreck of HMS Sirius”

23 1790 33.7 x 49.4 cm

“Plan of Arthur’s Vale, Norfolk Island” 25 1790 49.2 x 30.5 cm

“Views of Lord Howe Island, Discovered by Lieutenant Ball

February 1788”

26 1790? 32.5 x 48.3 cm

“Bird and Flower of Port Jackson” 38 1789 48.2 32.3 cm

“Pellican of Port Jackson” 41 1790 48 x 32.7 cm

"Shark of Port Jackson" 44 1789 30.9 x 45.7 cm

“Pigeon of Port Jackson” 46 1789 46.2 x 32.8 cm


“Parroquet and Flower of Port Jackson” 51 1789 42.8 x 33.1 cm

“Bird and Flower of Port Jackson” 52 1789 45.7 x 31.8

“Parrot and flowers of Port Jackson” 55 1790 46.8 x 32.1 cm

“White Hawke of Port Jackson” 58 1789 48.6 x 32.8 cm


“Fishes of Port Jackson” 62 1789 32.3 x 48.3 cm

Beehive version 2 top


“Views of the Cape de Verde Islands” 7 Between

1788 and

1791

32.3 x 49.4 cm

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“Views in the Neighbourhood of the Cape of Good-Hope” 11 1790 32.7 x 49.7 cm

“Van Dieman’s Land, New-Holland” and “Distant View off

Port Jackson”

13 1790 32.5 x 49.3 cm

“View of the East side of Sidney Cove, Port Jackson; from the

Anchorage”

16 1789 or

1790?

31.9 x 48.4 cm

“Ice Islands as seen on our Passage round Cape Horn in

1788”

19 1789 31.4 x 48.4 cm


“Fish of Port Jackson” 64 1789 31.4 x 37.8 cm

Beehive version 2 bottom


“view of the Table-Land from the Anchorage in the Bay,

Cape Good-hope”

12 1792 32.1 x 49.5 cm

“Views of Norfolk Island” 20 1790 32.2 x 50 cm

"The Melancholy Loss of His Majesty's Ship Sirius, Wreck'd

on Norfolk Island, on Friday Noon March 19th 1790"

22 1790 31.8 x 47.5 cm


"Shrub and Cockatoo of Port Jackson" 61 1789 48.4 x 32.7 cm

“Pigeon of Lord Howe Island” 72 1790 48.7 x 32.2 cm

“Birds of Port Jackson” 65 Between

1788 and

1792

48 x 32.7 cm

VAN DER LEY

There were multiple Van der Leys who were papermakers in the Netherlands. The Van der Ley

Company was dissolved in 1774 but Aris van der Ley continued operating their Forturin Mill until 1800

before passing the mill onto his nephew. The Van der Ley name was used for the paper produced at

the mill until it was sold in 1837.

VAN DER LEY version 1


“Hummock Island, so named by Captian Carteret, by the

natives called Mondoroo. A small island to the south point of

Minanao, in possession of the Dutch Company”

28 1791 31.9 x 50.5 cm

“Canoes of various Islands visited and discovered by the

Waaksamheydt”

29 1791? 32.4 x 49.7 cm

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VAN DER LEY version 2


“Emu of Port Jackson” 67 1791 47.7 x 31.5 cm

I TAYLOR

There was more than one John Taylor working as a papermaker in England in the late 18th century.

This watermark most likely relates to the John Taylor at Basted Mill in Wrotham Kent. He is possibly

the son of Clement Taylor whose watermark is found in the Watling collection. The earliest John Taylor

is known to have worked at the mill is in 1786.


“His Majesty’s Brig Supply” and His Majesty’s Ship Sirius” 4 Between

1790 and

1792

33.2 x 49.5 cm

"Snapper of Norfolk Island" 54 [1790] 33 x 48.8 cm

J WHATMAN

Whatman paper is commonly regarded as one of the best English papers available especially their

wove papers. Wove paper was invented by James Whatman senior. The Whatman mill began in 1740

when James Whatman senior married Ann Harris the widow of a papermaker. They were joint tenants

of Turkey Mill, Kent, England until James senior died in 1759. Ann operated the mill for three years

until James Whatman junior took over. A second mill, Loose was acquired in 1775. Whatman junior

took William Balston as his apprentice with the intention of having him take over management of the

business. A third mill Poll was acquired in 1787. In 1794 Whatman sold the business to Finch and

Thomas Robert Hollingworth who formed a partnership with Balston. Hollingsworth and Baslton

continued to use Whatman watermark. The partnership dissolved in 1805 with an agreement allowing

the Hollingswoths to use the J WHATMAN/TURKEY MILL watermark and Balston to use the J

WHATMAN mark.


“Natives Fishing in their Canoe, Port Jackson” and “Natives

Implements for War”

18 1790 32 x 49.5 cm

It is not possible to match the following countermarks to a maker’s names as they were all widely used

designs by paper mills throughout Europe.

Fleur de lis GR version 1


“Fishes of Norfolk Island” 40 1790 49.3 x 32.6 cm

“Tropic Bird, Norfolk Island” 68 1790 49.5 x 32.7 cm

Fleur de lis GR version 2


“Mount Pitt Bird, Norfolk Island 70 1790 33.5 x 49.5 cm

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GR in circle


“Nanberry, a native boy of Port Jackson” and “implements

of Port Jackson”

3 1792 31.8 x 19.5 cm

Unidentified (possibly Britannia)


"A Collection of Views, Sketches and Natural History" 1 1792? 7 x 14 cm

No watermark


“Fish of Port Jackson” 33 1790 15.8 x 25.4 cm

“Porpoise” 34 1790 17.2 x 25.7 cm

Wove papers in the collection

J WHATMAN – lightweight paper


Un-named bird 37 1787? 26.2 x 41 cm

No watermark


Diagram of a Cannon 2 Between

1788 and

1792

34.2 x 52.2 cm

“Antelope” 32 1792 23.6 x 29.8 cm

“Cassowary” 36 1792 29.6 x 23.8 cm

“Ground-bird of Lord Howe Island”, a modern copy of Raper

Drawing no. 73

74 19--? 47.2 x 32.7 cm

X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Raper Collection

Early in the project three watercolours were selected for analysis from the Raper Collection. All three

are signed by George Raper. The drawing Pigeon of Port Jackson (no.46) was analysed in the wing

where gilding media had been observed. Results found that the gilding metal was gold and

surrounding pigments contain mercury and iron. Microscope examination showed that the gold had

been applied by the Raper in a leaf form rather than a painted application. There may be losses of

leaf in this area as the watercolour pigments over the gold are much more highly saturated than the

watercolour on surrounding paper.

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Pigeon of Port Jackson Raper drawing no. 46

Detail

50 x magnification

Two more drawings from the Raper Collection were analysed based on their sharing subjects with

gilded drawings attributed to George Raper in the State Library of New South Wales’ collection. Fish

of Port Jackson (no. 33) and Shark of Port Jackson (no. 44). After visual and microscopic examination

it was unclear whether the eyes of these two fish were gilded or not. They have large areas of loss

which is typical for poorly applied metal leaf but have no clear metallic reflectance. XRF analysis of

Fish of Port Jackson found copper and zinc in the eye region indicating that a brass leaf may have been

used but these could also be components of the pigments. Visual inspection did not clearly confirm

that a brass leaf was used but the XRF result in conjunction with the fact that the drawing of the same

fish attributed to the same artist in the State Library of New South Wales’ collection (SAFE PXD 18 f.9)

has brass leaf in the eye suggests the possibility.

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Fish of Port Jackson Raper drawing no. 33

50 x magnification

Shark of Port Jackson Raper drawing no. 44

50 x magnification

Throughout the project three further drawings in the Raper Collection were identified as containing

metallic leaf or pigment in the eyes. There was however no time available to analyse them during the

project. The Natural History Museum’s conservation team have added this to their work schedule and

will send through the results when completed.

Fish of Rio de Janeiro (no.35) Fish of Port Jackson (no. 47) Fishes of Port Jackson (no.62)

50 x magnification 50 x magnification 50 x magnification

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The Port Jackson Painter Collection

The collection

The Port Jackson Painter is a term coined by art

historian Bernard Smith in the 1950’s to represent

this collection of 69 drawings. The collection has also

been referred to as Banks MS34 as it was part of

Joseph Bank’s collection before being donated to

the British Museum in 1827. Previous research has

put forward that the drawings in this collection are

by multiple artists, possibly including Thomas

Watling and that some drawings were made in Port

Jackson and some back in England from specimens.

One drawing, no 62, in the collection is initialled

‘TW’. Some of the drawings are copied as engravings

in Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales by John White, first published in 1790 which predates

Watling’s arrival in the colony by two years. The collection includes drawings of birds, mammals, fish,

reptiles, an arthropod, plants and ethnographic scenes.

Condition Summary

The condition of the drawings indicates that they were previously in a bound format for a significant

duration of time. All of the drawings have one edge that is heavily damaged indicating that it was the

bound edge of a volume. On many of the drawings this edge has the remains of sewing holes along

with losses and tears. These damaged edges would have been where the paper was folded and sewn

through. The other three edges of the drawings are in much better condition but discoloured which is

typical for the fore edges of a bound volume as they are exposed to light and atmospheric pollutants

while the inside of the book is protected. This discolouration process happens slowly and indicates

that the drawings were in a bound format for an extended period of time. There is frequently media

transfer from one drawing to the back of the adjacent drawing indicating that they were drawn into

an already bound volume and are still in their original order.

Drawings no.1 to 61 have been

drawn on the left hand side of

the damaged spine edge, the

drawings switch to the right

hand side of the spine edge at

drawing 62 and continue on the

right hand side to drawing 69.

There appears to be a page

missing between drawings 61

and 62, the brown ink

numbering which is on both

sides of each drawing jumps

from 121 to 124 and if arranged

as they were when bound the

two drawings would be in

direct contact with each other.

Port Jackson Painter drawing no. 14

Port Jackson Painter drawing no. 61 and 62

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The brown ink numbering is always in the top left corner of the paper regardless of the orientation of

the drawing, it seems unlikely that the pages were numbered in this way while still bound as the even

numbers are positioned at the spine edge.


There are only two

watermark designs in

the collection FLOYD &

Co and Britannia.

There are four

different versions of

FLOYD & Co and six

versions of Britannia,

four of the Britannia’s

are likely the

countermarks to the FLOYD & Co marks. The other two Britannia’s

could also be FLOYD & Co papers or from another paper maker.

Floyd and co. was a partnership formed between papermaker John

Floyd and John Fellows before 1789 and also known as Floyd and

Fellows. Prior to the partnership Floyd had operated the Eynsford

paper mill in Kent England from 1777. The partnership operated

into the 1800’s

The consistent paper stock found in the collection along with the evidence of binding indicates that

the drawings were drawn directly into a bound volume such as a notebook or sketchbook. This is

supported by the regular transfer of media from the front of drawings to the back of the adjacent

drawing. This evidence gives researchers a new way to look at and think about the collection and how

it was made.

The Watling Collection

The Collection

The collection now known as the Watling Collection was originally comprised of 512 drawings, 24 of

which were missing before they were purchased by the Museum in 1902. The collection when

purchased was in a single large volume which was disbound in 1984 and not retained. The collection

contains natural history drawings of birds, plants, fish, reptiles and insects as well as drawings of

ethnographic subjects and indigenous portraits. Less than a quarter of the drawings in the collection

are signed by convict artist Thomas Watling, there are some additional unsigned drawings in the

collection that are likely to be also by him. The majority of the collection is attributed to the Port

Jackson Painter but they are in a number of different styles indicating that there are multiple artists

responsible for the drawings.

Thomas Watling was raised in Dumfries Scotland receiving an education and training in art. He made

his living from painting including at one time running his own academy where he taught drawing. He

was convicted of forgery and sentenced to transportation in 1788. He didn’t arrive in the New South

Wales colony until October 1792. Watling’s artistic skills were soon recognised and he was assigned

to Surgeon General John White, an amateur naturalist for whom he produced the drawings in the

Tracing of Floyd & Co watermark

Tracing of a Britannia watermark

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collection. Watling was pardoned in 1797 and left the colony in 1804. John White collected drawings

from a number of other unidentified artists which make up the rest of this collection and other

collections.

The collection was sent to Britain by White on loan to Alymer Bourke Lambert in 1797. Lambert had

copies made of the drawings which are now known as the Derby Collection and in the collection of

the State Library of New South Wales. The collection was still with Lambert as late as 1805 but was

not listed in the catalogue of sale for his Library after his death in 1842. The collection was sold to the

British Museum in 1902 by James Lee. The provenance between these dates is uncertain but evidence

suggests that they were owned by John Francillion at his death in 1816.

Condition Summary

The large amount of watercolours in this collection are in overall good condition. There is a wide

variety of deterioration and damage throughout the collection. Deterioration of the media includes

the discolouration of lead white used as highlighting media, it has discoloured to grey, brown and

black. Copper based green media especially when applied as a wash has begun to discolour brown and

accelerate the deterioration of the paper support. Iron gall ink used in the drawings and inscriptions

has begun to strikethrough the paper. Creases and planar distortions are common throughout the

collection. The majority of the damage to the paper supports is concentrated at edges including short

tears, creases and discolouration. There is a small amount of foxing spots throughout the collection

most of which appear to be associated with inclusions in the paper. Most of the drawings have a darkly

drawn graphite border which is not original. Denser areas of media have fine cracks or flaking

especially in the drawings signed by Thomas Watling, this is most likely due to the expansion and

contraction of the paper over time.

Evidence of previous album

Photos taken before disbinding show the album pages the drawings were secured onto indicate that

the drawings had been trimmed to their current size previous to being placed into the album. The

crude graphite borders had also already been drawn on them. The images show paper corners on the

two right hand corners of each drawing suggesting that they were only adhered at the left corners or

edge allowing access to the verso. A large amount of the drawings have adhesive staining or skinning

in all the corners which indicates that they have at one stage after trimming been adhered in all four

corners either in an earlier album or the same album. Many but not all of the drawings have a vertical

crease/indent along the left edge, this may be from their being secured along the left edge in the

album either in the attachment process or by being creased when viewing the back or whilst being

removed from the album. Some drawings have inscriptions on the verso probably in John White’s

hand which have been partly lost in the trimming of the drawings. These have been copied out onto

paper labels. These paper labels have watermarks dating from as early as 1798 to as late as 1807. For

example the label for Watling no. 94 had the watermark JC/1798 indicating that the paper was made

no earlier than this date. These annotations must have been made prior to the trimming of the

drawings.

Thomas Watling’s technique

Drawings signed by Thomas Watling show how distinct his technique is from the bulk of the unsigned

drawings in the collection, this is visible in how he has applied the paint as well as how it has

deteriorated over time.

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Watling appears to be unique amongst first fleet artists in

applying a base opaque layer often white or grey which he

builds tone and texture on top of. He uses broad washes

to build up tone rather than lines like other artists in the

collection. The opaque layers have a characteristic

deterioration where the media flakes off due to the

movement of the paper over time. This can be in small

spots or in large disfiguring areas. The opacifier in the

opaque washes often appears to be lead white which has

discoloured over time darkening areas to brown, grey or

black. Lead white has also been used for highlights and

shows the same discolouration issues. It appears that

Watling applied some media quite wetly, dark details such as beaks and the ends of tails frequently

have bled through to the verso. Watling has used a copper based green in washes which has begun to

discolour and has penetrated through to the verso accelerating deterioration of the paper. He has also

used iron gall ink in lines and unusually in washes this has also accelerated the deterioration of the

paper causing brown discolouration.


A huge range of papers were found in the collection mostly from English paper mills. In addition to the

I Taylor and Whatman mill papers found in the Raper Collection papers from the following mills were

found.

Band – Edward Band was a papermaker at Wookey Hole Mill in Somerset by at least 1743. His son

John Band joined the mill by 1783. By 1800 the mill was operated by Golding and Snelgrove.

Budgen - Thomas Budgen was a papermaker that operated Dartford Mills in Kent as early as 1778. He

was soon after associated with a paper maker named Finch possibly John Finch at another two mills.

He was associated with the mills until at least 1802.

D & C Blauw – Dirk Blauw was a Dutch papermaker who worked from the 1720’s. He acquired the de

Herder mill in 1744. He formed a partnership with his son Cornelis in 1750 naming the firm Dirk &

Cornelis Blauw. They operated into the 1800’s owning five mills.

F&T - This watermark is from Francis Fincher and Joseph Turner who were in business together in the

1780’s and 90’s at Aller Mill in Devon.

L Munn – Lewis Munn operated the Ford Mill in Kent with Thomas Sweetlove from at least 1777 into

the early 1800’s. Munn was also connected with the Mill End Mill in Hertfordshire in the early 1800’s.

Portal & Co – Henry Portal came to England and was employed as a papermaker in the early 18th

century. He acquired the Laverstoke mill which the family operated into the 20th century. His son

Joseph Portal took over the mill after his death in 1747 until his own death in 1793. Joseph Portals son

John Portal continued the business.

C Taylor – There were two Clement Taylors who worked as paper makers and they were likely father

and son, operating paper mills in Kent from the 1740’s to 90’s. These mills included the Basted Mill,

Poll Mill, Upper Torvil Mill and the Hollongbourne Mill. John Taylor of the watermark I Taylor discussed

in the section on Raper Collection watermarks may have been another son of Clement Taylor senior.

Watling drawing no. 236

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R Williams – Robert Williams was a papermaker from as early as 1764 at Eyehorne Street Mill in

Hollingbourne, Kent.

Watermarks in Watling Collection

Paper maker Watermark No. of versions

Occurrence in signed drawings

Occurrence in unsigned drawings

Occurrence Total

Laid Papers

Band BAND 1 1 1

Budgen BUDGEN 2 9 4 13

T BUDGEN 1 1 1

D & C Blauw (Shield) D&C B 1 1 1

Fincher & Turner F&T 4 25 25

L MUNN L MUNN - (Britannia) 3 18 18

L MUNN 4 3 6 9

Portal & Co PORTAL & BRIDGES 4 5 5

PORTAL & Co 1 1 1

Likely Joseph Portal

(Vryheid lion) JP 1 1 1

(Cursive design) 1 1 1 1

Taylor C TAYLOR 4 7 6 13

I TAYLOR 2 1 1 2

R Williams R WILLIAMS 1 1 1

Whatman J WHATMAN - (Lily bend) W 1 4 4

J WHATMAN - (Lily) W 1 1 1

J WHATMAN 5 10 10

(Lily bend) W 1 1 1

(Lily bend) W 3 12 12

Unknown VI 8 11 56 67

(Britannia) 20 6 55 61

(Lily bend) GR 2 2 2

(Lily) GR 2 3 3

(Lily) LVG 4 12 15 27

(Lily?) 2 1 1 2

(Horn) GR 7 5 48 53

B (Horn) GR 2 6 1 7

(Horn cursive) 2 3 1 4

(Horn?) 1 1 1

(Crown) GR 7 2 10 12

(Cursive design) 2 1 1 1

(English arms) 1 1 1

Wove Papers

Whatman J WHATMAN - J WHATMAN 4 11 21 32

J WHATMAN 5 5 3 8

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Looking at the unique watermark designs, the individual wire version of a design, allows the

identification of papers made on the same papermaking mould. This provides a new point of entry in

examining a collection as large and diverse as the Watling collection. In the course of the survey edge

decoration was found on a small group of drawings. These intact decorated edges indicate that the

drawings were removed from a bound volume, possibly a sketchbook or notebook that they bad been

drawn or bound into. Papers with edge decoration included four versions of the F&T watermark and

two versions of the Britannia watermark. Britannia in this case is likely the countermark to F&T with

two more associated versions unidentified in the collection.

In the tables below drawings on the same paper stocks as the drawings with edge decorations have

been grouped. The consistency of paper stocks such as the four versions of F&T suggest that they were

drawn onto paper that had already been bound as a blank journal or notebook. This is an example of

how the watermark data can be used by researchers

F&T version 1

Watling no.53 Watling no.150 Watling no.295 Watling no.453

29.5 x 18.7 cm 21 x 18.7 cm 26.6 x 17.9 cm 27.5 x 17.4 cm

F&T version 2


23.8 x 18.3 cm 20.8 x 15.5 cm 25.3 x 16.7 cm 29.3 x 17.1 cm

Watling no.442 Watling no.462

29.1 x 16.8 cm 27.3 x 17.5 cm

22

F&T version 3


11.4 x 25.6 cm 21.2 x 16.9 cm 24.1 x 17.2 cm 25.4 x 17.3 cm


24.9 x 17.4 cm 22.8 x 17.8 cm 22.8 x 16 cm 24.9 x 17 cm

Watling no.382

16.2 x 24.2 cm

F&T version 4


23 x 15.7 cm 19.1 x 16.2 cm 18 x 30.4 cm 31.1 x 16.4 cm


28 x 18.2 cm 30.6 x 19.3

23

Britannia version 1


17 x 27.8 cm 24.2 x 17.2 cm 24 x 17.4 cm 19.2 x 15.7 cm


19.9 x 17.5 cm 20.3 x 14.6 cm 21 x 15.6 cm 22.4 x 16.4 cm


31.3 x 16.5 cm 29.1 x 17.5 cm

Britannia version 2


19.6 x 31.4 cm 18.9 x 31 cm 22 x 16.3 cm 23 x 17 cm


22 x 17.7 cm 28.9 x 16.6 cm

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Another way matching watermarks can be used is to check for matching watermarks in drawings that

are stylistically similar to the work of Thomas Watling but have not been signed by him. For instance

one of the versions of the BUDGEN watermark is found in three drawings signed by Watling and three

unsigned drawings. When the unsigned drawings are examined the stylistic traits of Watling are clear

with layers of opaque media and adept tonal modulation, this gives further evidence to back up

attributions made based on stylistic assessment. It also begins to illustrate that some papers were

used widely by many artists while others so far appear to be of limited use by only one or two artists.

BUDGEN version 1 signed drawings

Watling no.37 Watling no.387 Watling no.395

BUDGEN version 1 unsigned drawings

Watling no.135 Watling no.390 Watling no.397

X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Watling Collection

Early in the project two watercolours were selected for analysis from the Watling Collection no. 99

Axilliary Falcon and no. 407 Ant, Native name “Mong”. Both drawings are unsigned and attributed to

the anonymous group of artists labelled as the Port Jackson Painter. They therefore may be by two

different artists. XRF analysis of the drawing identified the gilding metal as gold. The red pigment used

in both drawings was identified as mercury based vermillion or cinnabar. Other pigments could not be

individually identified.

Examination of the gilded areas with a digital microscope gives an indication of how the gold was

applied. The texture of gold leaf is clear in the abdomen of the ant with sharp edges to the gilded area,

a crinkled surface and even density. The eye too appears to have the gold applied as a leaf but with a

much more disrupted surface, burnishing the gold before the adhesive had fully dried could account

for the small gold fragments surrounding the eye.

25

Axilliary Falcon Watling no.99

Ant, Native name “Mong” Watling no.407

50x magnification

50x magnification

Throughout the survey of the collection additional drawings which possibly contain further use of

metallic media were identified. These have been scheduled for analysis using XRF by Natural History

Museum Conservators at a later date.

Examination of Indian Company Drawings

Company paintings were made in South East Asia, predominantly India, for the British market. Natural

History subjects were commissioned by British colonisers to send back to England and also as part of

the establishment of botanical gardens in India. It has been suggested that British models such as

illustrated natural history books were shown to the artists who then imitated them. Previous research

has suggested that gilded drawings in the State Library New South Wales First Fleet collections may

have been Indian Company paintings due to the use of gold. While subsequent research had

demonstrated that the gilded drawings were most likely produced in the New South Wales colony the

fellowship was an opportunity to examine the use of gilding in Company paintings as a comparison

point. Two collections at the British Library containing drawings with metallic media were examined

visually.

26

The Raffles Collection

The Raffles Collection of natural history

drawings was collected by Sir Stamford

Raffles during his service with the East

India Company. The drawings were

commissioned or collected from Java,

Sumatra and Singapore. Raffles and his

wife did not recordthe names of any of the

team of five or six artists that worked for

them. One artist J Briois signed his works

making him an exception. While none of

the gilded drawings are signed they are

attributed as almost certainly by J Briois.

Silver leaf has been used extensively in 14

drawings in the collection, the silver is

mostly tarnished and now quite visually

disfiguring to the drawings. There is much

more limited use of gold leaf which is found in five drawings alongside the silver leaf. All of the gilded

drawings are on wove papers. Watermarks found are J WHATMAN/1816 and J WHATMAN/1820.

Silver and gold appear to have been applied to the

drawings in both a leaf and painted application. Silver

and gold leaf are found applied on top of watercolour

media with the edges of the leaf overlapping painted

details and fine cracks in the leaf revealing media

underneath. It appears that in some cases the artist has

scratched back into the silver to create lines.

Watercolour has also been applied over silver and gold

leaf but does not always cover the entire surface of the

leaf. The edges of the metal leaf are not obscured by

media making them less visually integrated. Tarnishing

of the silver leaf makes it difficult in some cases to

determine the original colours. The silver and gold leaf

are both cracking and flaking off in small areas.

The Marquis of Wellesley Collection

The Marquis of Wellesley was Governor General

of India from 1798 to 1805. In this time he

assembled 2,660 natural history paintings bound

into 26 volumes. He employed a team of artists

to systematically document the natural history

of India, mainly birds and animals with drawings

made in duplicate one set of copies kept in India

and the other sent to London.

There is limited use of gold paint in the collection

to create highlights. It is painted in fine lines and

circles in repetitious decorative patterns to

Lophura ignita NHD 47/43

Cymbirhynchus macrorhychos NHD 47/15

Wellesley Collection NHD 28/9

27

illustrate feather patterns. Gold leaf may have also been used in at least one drawing but without

access to higher powered magnification it was not possible to make a conclusive observation.

Conclusions and Recommendations

This Churchill Fellowship project has allowed the thorough documentation of the materials and condition of the entire First Fleet collections at the Natural History Museum, London. This has created a wealth of data about the paper stocks and artist materials used by First Fleet artists. This builds on similar data about the State Library New South Wales and National Library of Australia’s First Fleet collections that had previously been documented. This has further established our understanding of the artist materials available in colonial New South Wales. This data is a new tool for researchers to look at the collections and has already found previously unknown connections within the collections. New insights into the collections have already been made, documenting the evidence of previous bindings in the Port Jackson Painter and Watling Collections. The X-ray Fluorescence analysis of gilded watercolours in the collections has built on previous research into the use of and availability of gilding materials in colonial Australia. The Indian company paintings examined provide a valuable comparison point for the use of gilding materials in natural history watercolours. The volume of data gathered has meant that only limited observations have been made so far with massive potential to draw further insights into colonial art practice with further research.

The real value of this data is in its dissemination, it will allow researchers a new avenue in exploring these large collections. Most clearly the watermark tracings allow a new way of grouping watercolours in the large Watling Collection, complimenting the extensive research that has been done into the different artistic styles found in the collection. Comparing the watermarks found in these collections to those found in Australian collections has just begun and already revealed the use of matching paper stocks across collections. This work creates a network of interconnected collections building evidence towards which collections were made in the colony. Further comparative research into the paper stocks that occur in Australian collections is planned. The discoveries about the individual collections at the Natural History Museum may be published as standalone research for the conservation and curatorial fields.

Access to the watermark tracings needs to be made available to researchers, this may be possible through digital publishing. This would also include tracings made from Australian collections creating a large resource for researchers. Ideally this would allow searching by watercolour, collection and watermark making the data much more discoverable and easy to investigate. Preliminary to the development of this the early findings can be distributed to relevant institutions and researchers.

The long term benefit of this research will be in the increased understanding of the artistic community of colonial New South Wales. Identifying the use of fine materials such as gold leaf helps us to understand the value that these drawings had at the time as the first records of new discoveries. The better our understanding of how these works were made the better we can understand the convict settlement. Research in this field continues to demonstrate the colony to be a rich cultural community heavily involved in natural science and art.

28

Bibliography

Anemaat, L 2014, Natural Curiosity: Unseen art of the First Fleet, University of New South Wales

Press, Sydney.

Archer, M 1992, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, Victoria and Albert

Museum, London.

Bower, P 1990, Turner’s Papers: A study of the manufacture, selection and use of his Drawing Papers

1787-1820, Tate Gallery, London

Churchill, W 1990, Watermarks in paper in Holland, England, France, etc., in the XVII and XVIII

centuries and their interconnection, Nieuwkoop De Graaf Publishers, Amsterdam.

Di Tommaso, L 2012, The Art of the First Fleet, Natural History Museum, London.

Gravell, M 1983, A Catalogue of Foreign Watermarks Found on Paper Used in America 1700 – 1835,

Garland Publishing, New York

Haewood, E 2003, Watermarks : mainly of the 17th and 18th centuries, The Paper Publications

Society, Amsterdam.

Neville, R 1997, A Rage for Curiosity, State Library of New South Wales Press, Sydney.

Noltie, H.J. 2009, Raffles Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir Thomas

Raffles, The British Library, London.

Shorter, A 1954, Paper Mills and papermakers in England 1495 – 1800, The Paper Publications

Society, Hilversum.

Smith, B & Wheeler, A (eds.) 1988, The Art of the First Fleet, Yale University Press, London.

Image Credits

All images in this report are copyright to Kate Hughes unless otherwise stated. Images of collection

items (excluding detail images) in the sections: X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Raper Collection;

Watling Collection Papers in the collection and X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of the Watling Collection

are copyright of the Natural History Museum, London and appear courtesy of the Trustees of the

Natural History Museum, London.

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