Grappling for the Lost Cable

In the pictureIn the middle of a night sea, with the moon rising between clouds, a huge iron ship with several masts and funnels floats at an angle. People crowd together at the bow on the right, a line runs down from the bow into the sea, and a small boat floats on the waves below. In the sky at upper right are a trailing streak of light and stars, with a sailing ship far off on the left and a steamship on the horizon at right. The museum's image is black and white. Something like round rings hangs on the side of the hull, and white spray rises from the rough waves.

BackgroundIn 1865 the transatlantic telegraph cable being laid by the Great Eastern broke in mid-ocean and sank to a depth of about 4km. The next year, after successfully laying a new cable, the ship returned to that spot, lowered grappling hooks to sweep the bottom, and raised and spliced the broken cable to complete a second line. The British painter Robert Charles Dudley (1826–1909) sailed on this voyage and produced a series of works, and this painting was given to the museum in 1892 by Cyrus W. Field, who led the cable venture. The Great Eastern was the largest ship in the world at the time, so it could carry a cable long enough to cross the Atlantic in one load.

Puzzle tipAs a black-and-white night sea, it is on the hard side. Set the reference points of the sky first with the brightest pieces: the moon, the clouds around it and the streak of light at upper right. The ship has clear horizontal lines on its dark hull and vertical lines in its masts, so start with the people at the bow and the small boat. Join the waves by following the direction in which the white foam flows. The sailing ship on the left and the steamship on the horizon at right are small silhouettes, useful for checking the position of edge pieces. 48 pieces is recommended.