A whole plate negative. A distant starboard side view, taken from ahead of the beam, of the pontoon Cleopatra (1877) at moorings in Gravesend Reach, River Thames. This vessel was purpose built around Cleopatra's Needle to transport the obelisk from Alexandria to London. The Coast Guard Watch Vessel CGWV 28 (1847) is drawn up on the Tilbury shore in the background. The bottom left corner of the negative is broken and taped. The Cleopatra (1877) left Alexandria under Captain Carter and a crew of eight in tow of the steamship Olga (1870) on 21 September 1877 but she had to be abandoned in heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay 15 October 1877. The drifting Cleopatra was found by the steamship Fitzmaurice (1875) and towed into Ferrol. After repairs she left Ferrol in tow of the tug Anglia (1866) on 16 January 1878 and arrived at Gravesend 21 January 1878. She was later towed upriver to Westminster where she arrived 9 February 1878.