Joseph Pennell. 1857-1926.
Dinner Time, Gatun Lock. 1912. Lithograph. Wuerth 227. 22 x 16 7/8 (sheet 25 7/8 x 20 7/8). Panama Canal series #3. Edition 50. A rich, well-inked printing on 'MBM (France) Ingres d'Arches' countermarked laid paper, on the full sheet with deckle edges. Illustrated: Beall, American Prints in the Library of Congress, page 349. Signed in pencil. $2,500
Pennell wrote of the work, "Between Mount Hope and Gatun is much more of the swamp and much more abandoned machinery, but the Canal is not to be seen from the railroad, or any evidence of it, till the train stops at the station of Old Gatun, with its workmen's dwellings crowning the hillside. I regret I made no drawing of these, so picturesquely perched. At the statio of Gatun -- the first time I stopped -- I saw the workmen -- indecorative fashion -- coming to the surface for dinner. The lithograph was made from a temporary bridge spanning the locks and looking toward Colon. The great machines on each side of the locks are for mixing and carrying to their place, in huge buckets, the cement and concrete, of which the locks are built. The French Canal is in the extreme distance, now used by our engineers."
To order, to report broken links or to be placed on the email list, please contact Jane Allinson (jane@allinsongallery.com) or fax (860) 429 2825.