Royal Commonwealth Society : Like Philomel 1842-1846

Hamond, Georgena Maria?

Royal Commonwealth Society

<p style='text-align: justify;'>A watercolour of a brig similar to H.M.S. Philomel, probably painted in the Falkland Islands by Georgena Maria Hamond.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Georgena’s father, Captain Philip Hamond, sailed to the Falkland Islands in 1848 with his friend Captain Bartholomew James Sulivan who had commanded the Philomel,1842 -1846. Sulivan used the brig to carry out survey work around the Falkland Islands, and La Plata river basin, and it became involved in the Paraná campaign – a five year naval blockade imposed by France and Britain on the Argentine Confederation. Sulivan wrote of the Philomel that she ‘was one of the beautiful Simondite brigs, and well upheld the reputation of her builder’. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The initials G.M.H. below the artwork imply it was painted by Captain Hammond’s daughter Georgena Maria, who was not born until after 1860. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The watercolour is pasted into an album on the Falkland Islands created by the Hamond family of Twyford Hall, Norfolk. It contains photographs, original drawings and watercolours, mostly of maritime interest, ranging in date from 1845 to 1900. The album was purchased from Spots by the Royal Colonial Institute Library in 1912. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>See Janus record <a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='https://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0115%2FRCMS%20273'>here</a></p>