Laying cable, Port Magee, Ireland, 1866.

Lithograph after Robert Dudley from 'The Atlantic Telegraph', a book by W H Rusell with 26 illustrations by Dudley, published in 1866. It shows the 'Caroline' laying the shore end of the transatlantic telegraph cable on 22 July 1866. This was the start of the third attempt to establish a permanent transatlantic telegraph cable. Following failed attempts in 1858 and 1865, the succes of the 'Great Eastern' in laying a cable from Ireland to Newfoundland reduced communication times acros the Atlantic from the length of a sea voyage to a few seconds.