Symptoms of a First Voyage
Medium
Softground etching, handcolored
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 5/16 × 10 7/16 in. (21.1 × 26.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Adele S. Collins, 1976
Accession Number
1976.602.63
Tags
Art Historical Context
Henry Thomas Alken, a prolific British artist renowned for his lively depictions of sporting life, hunting scenes, and social satire, created *Symptoms of a First Voyage* in 1822. Collaborating with publisher Thomas McLean Alken produced this softground etching, hand-colored for vivid appeal. Measuring just 8 5/16 × 10 7/16 inches, the intimate print captures the era's humor through exaggerated human experiences, a hallmark of Regency-period British graphic art. The title whimsically evokes the miseries of a novice sailor's first sea journey—likely seasickness and discomfort—featuring men and...
About the Artist
Henry Thomas Alken|Thomas McLean (British|British) · 1785 |1788 –1851 |1875
British, London 1785–1851 London|British, 1788–1875