The full title of this etching by George Cooke after Clarkson Stanfield is 'The Diving Bell used at the Thames Tunnel after the Irruption of the Water on the 18th May 1827'. The Thames Tunnel was the first underwater tunnel in the world, and the first use of Marc Brunel's tunnelling shield. Because the tunnellers did not properly understand the geology of the area - and partly because the directors of the company had speeded up the digging against Brunel's advice - the river broke in to the works several times. The project was halted after further inundations in 1828, and did not resume until 1835. The Thames Tunnel finally opened in 1843.This is one of Stanfield's plates for Cooke's 'Views in London and its Vicinity' (issued from 1827) but is fairly late in the series, since Stanfield is named as A.R.A (elected 1 Nov. 1832 - R.A. in February 1835). [PvdM 9/04]