Bird's Eye View of the Breakwater and Dockworks, Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope

This is a rare Bowler print that very seldom comes on to the market (ccording to the Bradlows : Thomas Bowler of the Cape of Good Hope His Life and Works with a Catalogue of Extant Paintings. Cape Town, 1955: LP65).

TW Bowler drew the image on stone and the black lithograph, to which pale blue was added, was printed by by Saul Solomon & Co. Solomon was a liberal member of the Cape under Responsible Government). The litho was published  in about 1867 when Prince Alfred, who tipped the first rocks of the Breakwater, returned to the Cape; Brdlow was of the opinion that it was drawn in 1860 but printed later due to a low subscriver response at eht ime of intended earlier publication.

The print is historically important because it shows the dockworks and provides a key; it is also possible to discern small part of the railway line between the docks and town, Papendorp (Woodstock) and Wellington - this railway line was the beginning of today's South African network. The breakwater was built by convict labour; the labourers were housed in the Breakwater Prison, now UCT's Graduate School of Business, which is not shown on the lithograph..

The print is in fine condition, recently having been cleaned and de-acidified.