The son of an engraver, Cooke was a meticulous and sometimes obsessive draughtsman. At the age of eighteen, he drew and etched a series of plates of maritime subjects for 'Shipping and Craft', published in 1829. These reflect his interest in maritime subjects in which he was to specialise. His travels, in particular to Holland and Italy provided subjects for a large number of his paintings exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1835 and 1879. This drawing is evidence of Cooke's fascination with recording geological formations.