Breaking up of the "Agamemnon," No. I

Seymour Haden was the unlikely combination of a surgeon and an etcher. Although he pursued a very successful medical career, he is mostly remembered for his etched work as well as for his writings on etching. He was one of a group of artists, including James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), whose passionate interest in the medium led to the so-called etching revival, a period that lasted well into the twentieth century. The extolling of etching for its inherent spontaneous qualities reached its pinnacle during this time. While the line of the etching needle, Haden wrote, was "free, expressive, full of vivacity," that of the burin was "cold, constrained, uninteresting," and "without identity."
Sunset in background, at left; the 'Agamemnon' at center; a wrecking barge with smoke emanating and smaller boats with men in front of 'Agamemnon' ship in middle ground, at right; a dock, boats, and a view of Greenwich in foreground.
"State VIII (D1, H1). The shore line and sky under the bow of the Agamemnon, added in state VI, removed and replaced by a smoking chimney, a brig under sail, stern on, and two small sailing boats. A rigging line from the left side of the Dreadnought to the top of its mast has been etched. The shadows under the stern of the Agamemnon, added in state V, either burnished out or have worn. Drypoint work in waves in water above balk of timber. The shadows of the ships in front of Greenwich have been strengthened and the cupola of Greenwich redefined with drypoint."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 273]
"Published States: First.- A smoking chimney, a brig under sail, stem on, and two small sailing-boats appear in the distance beneath the bow of the ship."
[Source: Harrington, p. 71]