There are two familiar images of William Symington which are accepted as authentic likenesses: the crayon drawing by David Octavius Hill R.S.A. (1802-1870) which is held in the Science Museum at South Kensington and identical plaster busts which may be found in the Science Museum and in the Melbourne Museum. I have also identified a previously unrecorded miniature portrait.

PORTRAIT BY D.O. HILL

“Sketch made from The Life in a Leith Smack on a voyage from London of William Symington” [1]

The original crayon portrait by Hill was purchased from the artist by Bennet Woodcroft F.R.S. and bears the inscription in pencil: “Symington 1st practical Inventor of the application of Steam for propelling Vessels on water.”  On the mount is the following note, in ink, (believed to be have been added by Woodcroft): “Sketch made from the Life in a Leith Smack on a voyage from London, of William Symington, by D.O. Hill. R.S.A.” Then, in different handwriting: “Drawn about the year 1830.” [2]

[1] Inventory Number 1903-0195; Picture Reference 10419297

[2] Letter from David Bell, 19, Eton Place, Hillhead, Glasgow to Robert Rankine, Melbourne, dated 28th February 1913. Personal Collection

A mezzotint engraving by Thomas Oldham Barlow, after David Octavius Hill c.1850 and held in the NPG London [1]

The image from Hill’s portrait has been incorporated in an imaginary gathering of “Distinguished men of science, 1807-8, gathered in the library of the Royal Institution,” [3][4] in which William Symington stands on the right of Patrick Miller, his first sponsor; also depicted are other luminaries in the field of steam powered transport, William Murdoch, Richard Trevithick and Charles, Earl Stanhope.

[1] NPG D6912

[2] Walker, Richard, Regency Portraits Volume I Text NPG London page 492

[3] Published in Walker, William Junior, with an introduction by Robert Hunt, Memoirs of the Distinguished Men of Science Living in the Years 1807-8 London 1862

[4] NPG Item 1075 by Sir John Gilbert, Frederick John Skill, William Walker and Elizabeth Walker, pencil and wash circa 1857-1862 (reproduced in Ingamells, John, National Portrait Gallery Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790 NPG 20040); after this work, there is also an Engraving dated 1862 by George Zabel and William Walker, NPG item number 1075a; also a Key to the Engraving by William Walker, item 1075b

MEN OF SCIENCE LIVING IN 1807-8

      Men of Science Living in 1807-8

By Sir John Gilbert (grouping), Frederick John Skill (figures), and William and Elizabeth Walker, née Reynolds (design and finish); pencil and wash, 1858-1862 [1]

[1] NPG 1075 See Walker, Richard, Regency Portraits NPG London 1985 Volume I: Text, page 492 Volume II: Plates, pages 1516-24

Engraving after Men of Science Living in 1807-8 by George Zobel and William Walker 1862[1] [2]

[1] NPG 1075a

[2] NPG 1075 b Key to the engraving by William Walker & Son 1862

Key to the Engraving of the Distinguished Men of Science of Great Britain 1807-8 [1]

Biographic memoirs of the men pictured here were compiled and published in 1862 by William Walker Junior. [2] According to Walker Junior, Sir John Gilbert designed the grouping and general effect, J. F. Skill worked on the drawing and William Walker completed the drawing. The Hill original was provided for copy by Bennet Woodcroft, Superintendent of the Patent Office. [3]  In this key, William Symington is numbered 46 and Patrick Miller is number 47.

[1] Dated May 20th 1862, Published in Walker, William Junior, with an introduction by Robert Hunt, Memoirs of the Distinguished Men of Science Living in the Years 1807-8 London 1862

[2] Walker, William Junior, with an introduction by Robert Hunt, Memoirs of the Distinguished Men of Science Living in the Years 1807-8 London 1862; Second Edition London 1864 

[3] Walker, Richard, Regency Portraits Volume I: Text NPG London 1985 page 606

MINIATURE PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM SYMINGTON

This little drawing is an unknown long-forgotten and unpublished portrait of William Symington, the steam boat inventor.

The miniature portrait, undated and by an unknown artist, was brought to Australia by William Symington (1802-1867) when he emigrated to Victoria in 1855. His direct descendants retained possession of this portrait, which was paired with an ambrotype photograph of a post-mortem bust (see separate notes about the bust). The portrait and the ambrotype came by inheritance into the possession of Nancy Symington of Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, and for decades these special items were sequestered away in a drawer where they were undisturbed and forgotten.

DESCRIPTION

The bust-length portrait in profile is prepared in standard "cabinet" format, measuring 2 ¾ by 3 3/8 inches. The work is not signed or dated. The identity of the artist is unknown.  The medium is pencil and wash on heavy grade paper or card. 

FRAME 

The ebonised frame with gilded clasp relates to the early Victorian or late Georgian era. Composed of black papier mache, the frame measures  4 5/8 by 5 3/8 inches; the ornamental brass hanger has a grape and vine leaf design.

BACKING TO THE FRAME

There is no stencil or advertisement which can identify the artist but the backing contains a section of an otherwise unrelated newspaper advertisement. The backing card which retains the portrait in the frame is cut from an advertisement “James McMillan Lamp Manufacturer” of No. 18, Hanover Street, Long Acre, indicating that the portrait was framed in London. Paper pasted on the back of the frame carries an advertisement. There are losses to the text, the remnant of which reads: “Selection… for young… by Jam… 12, White Lion Street… Ladies… By…  Bishopsgate.”

James McMillan, lamp manufacturer, tinman and brazier, "formerly of No. 5, and lastly of No. 18, Hanover-street, Long-acre" is recorded as an insolvent debtor in 1831. [1] By December 1833, McMillan is no longer trading, being described as an insolvent debtor, "late" of 18 Hanover-Street and "lately" a prisoner of the Debtor's Prison. [2] The inclusion of this advertisement indicates the portrait was framed or re-framed in about 1831, the year of William Symington's death.

[1] The Law Advertiser for the Year 1831 London Volume IX page 135

[2] The London Gazette for the Year 1833, Issue 19107 3 December 1833 page 2245

COSTUME

The cravat and shirt frill are as featured in the early decades of the 19th Century. The broad coat lapel has a single notch and button-hole; the margin of the lapel and a star-like embellishment on his coat are highlighted with a glossy black pigment.

The outline of the head is lightly traced in pencil and corresponds precisely with the contour of the plaster bust which was taken post mortem. This degree of accuracy would suggest that the portraitist employed an instrument or device such as a camera obscura combined with a pantograph to trace the outline of the silhouette of his head. 

The sketch in profile depicts a balding brown-eyed middle-aged man facing to his left. At first sight, the face is a younger version of the post mortem bust. The shape of the face, the contour of the forehead and the facial proportions are remarkably like these features in the bust. The forehead is generous, the eye is prominent and the nose prominent but straight at the bridge; the lips are full and the lower jaw recedes a little.  The ear is simple in configuration. On careful measurement and comparison, the proportions and shape of the contours of the forehead, nose, upper lip and chin correspond precisely to the anatomy of the bust. The configuration of the nostril and of the lips is also identical. 

Hence, I believe this to be a hitherto unrecorded and unrecognised portrait of the inventor himself. The provenance is clear: both the portrait and ambrotype were held by the immediate family of the inventor’s son, William.  The uncertainties are when, where and by whom was this portrait prepared. 

The best indication of the period of the portrait is the attire, which relates to the Regency period: the style of coat and the white stock and cravat is considered typical of the period from about 1805 to 1820. [1] William Symington was at that time aged between 40 and 55 years. Although the portrait probably dates from that period, there is the lesser possibility that it was commissioned as a memento and copied from the death mask. 

There is a strong possibility that William had the portrait made when he was in London to present his steamboat model at the Royal Institution in 1802. It would have been an inexpensive purchase.

[1] For Example, see Raeburn’s Professor Dugald Stewart 1808, John Rennie c.1810 and John Clerk, Lord Elgin c.1815, all in the NPG Edinburgh; George Romney miniature watercolour by Mary Barret c.1798 and William Blake by Thomas Phillips 1807, NPG London

DEATH BUSTS

See the following section.