A sweeping topographical view of the coast of Sierra Leone from the water. This early view of the colony shows it alive with industry and its central purpose noted with the inclusion of the Liberated African Office and Zachary Macaulay.
Stretching from Susan’s Bay on the left to St George’s Bay, it shows a large ship in the foreground with four men in a canoe rowing toward it. The key running beneath the image picks out: Susan Point Battery, Susan’s Bay, Mr William’s House, Mr. Carr, Mr. Fothergill, Governors Steps & House, Commissarial Stores, Z. Macaulay & Co, Church, Fish market, Liberated African Office, Jail, Watering place, and St Georges Bay.
Edward Duncan (1803-82) followed in his father’s footsteps and enjoyed a distinguished career as an engraver and watercolour painter. Before setting out on his own, he apprenticed under Robert Havell Sr, and specialised in maritime subjects. He worked for William John Huggins (whose daughter, Bertha, he married) as well as the Illustrated London News. He was a member of the Royal Institution and later the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours. He spent his entire life in London.
