(Recto) Inside the Harbour at Malta, 17 April 1852; (Verso) HMS 'Trafalgar' in Grand Harbour, Malta, 11 March 1852 RMG PZ0865-002

(Recto) Inside the Harbour at Malta, 17 April 1852; (Verso) HMS 'Trafalgar' in Grand Harbour, Malta, 11 March 1852
No. 17 of 36 (PAI0849 - PAI0884).
(Recto) Inscribed top left, 'Apr 17th 52 / Malta' and 'Frank' below the passenger-carrying dghaisa in the left centre. This is presumably the name of the Maltese boatman rowing it, perhaps one well known to Mends and other officers. The viewpoint appears to be well inside the Grand Harbour, and was carefully chosen for a clear view seaward, though the scale is a little odd. The centre of Valletta is on the Floriana promontory to the left, the arcade probably being that of the Lower Barracca Gardens. The bastion to the right is Fort St Michael, on the inward side of Dockyard Creek.
(Verso) 'H.M.S. Trafalgar / Capt. Greville - Malta / March 11th 1852'. A finely drawn port broadside view of the ship, from slightly aft and not completely finished, with her topmasts struck down and her rigging under refit after the storm she suffered in February (see PAI0863 and PAI0864). Unlike many of Mends's drawings, a good number of crew are included giving a sense both of activity and the ship's great size: her reflection in the calm water is also effective. She flies a blue ensign and has a boat lying astern and a local dghaisa alongside, and may be lying under the walls of Valletta (see verso of PAI0864 for a related view). The 'Cape Carthage...' inscription top right refers to the drawing on the recto of the next page, PAI0866.

HMS 'Trafalgar' in Grand Harbour, Malta