Inscribed by the artist, as title, and signed, lower left. The only first-class protected (belted) cruisers built at Chatham at the apparent date shown here were 'Devonshire', launched in 1904 and 'Shannon', launched in 1906. The ship is most probably meant to be the 'Devonshire' from the hull shape, but this had two rows of scuttles forward while only one is shown. The view is of the scene following the floating out of the cruiser from one of the building docks. Wyllie lived at Hoo St Werburgh on the Medway, opposite and a little below Chatham until moving to Portsmouth towards the end of 1906, so this is one of his later drawings of that period.