Robert Salmon (1775-1848)

According to A.S. Davidson, the recognized expert on the artist: "Although favorably situated on a promontory overlooking the Irish Sea and South Stack, the early Holyhead signal stations suffered from the disadvantage that messages were forwarded to Liverpool by courier and did not arrive until the next day. As Liverpool prospered, the Dock Board Trustees decided to bridge the 70 mile gap with a chain of 11 intercommunicating semaphore stations. Completed in 1826, the transmission time was reduced to five minutes! Salmon commemorates this widely acclaimed technical achievement, with an aesthetically appealing portrayal of the enlarged and updated station with its semaphore arms mounted on the short mast and the tall flag pole allowing the station to 'speak' to passing ships using traditional flag hoists. The new Holyhead-Liverpool Telegraph proved a huge success and was the busiest and most enduring system of its kind in Great Britain."

We would like to thank A.S. Davidson for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.