original art: drawing over etched outline. In the centre the dark bulk of Admiral de Winter's totally dismasted 'Vryheid', at the Battle of Camperdown on 11 October 1797, masks the 64-gun 'Director' of Captain William Bligh, which both ships engaged starboard to starboard broadside. To the right Admiral Duncan's flagship 'Venerable' is in the middle distance in starboard-quarter view after having engaged 'Vryheid' for three hours and lost her main topmast. Duncan's blue admiral's flag is shown nailed to the stump, as was famously done when the rest was shot away by one of his men, Jack Crawford of Sunderland. Ships are also scattered across the more distant background. After damage to 'Venerable' caused her to sheer off, 'Vryheid' engaged with 'Triumph', 'Ardent' and 'Director' until all her masts fell over the side and disabled her starboard guns: she then dropped out of the line as an ungovernable hulk and struck her colours, which brought an end to the battle. 'Director' evidently claimed the honour of firing the last broadside into her as shown by Owen's MS inscription on this image which is an original watercolour but one worked up over a basic etched outline of the foreground ships and 'Venerable' to the right. PAG8958 is another copy, though with only part of the same inscription, in which both the sky and the distant shipping beyond are different and in watercolour only. From this it appears that Owen supplied them to order, using a base stock of the plates but each being a more or less similar replica version. The inscription on this example reads: 'This plate of His Majesty's Ship DIRECTOR firing her last broadside to which / the Vreyhied [sic] struck is humbly inscribed to Capn. Wm. Bligh, Officers &c by their most / obedient and very humble servant Saml. Owen. Drawn etched & Pubd. by S. Owen No. 144 Strand April 1798.' The original drawing, in freehand watercolour, was one of a set of three the Owen appears to have done for Bligh in 1798 and which were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1799. All three were acquired by the Museum from Bligh's descendants in December 2018 and are numbered ZBA8790-ZBA8792. This item replicates the last of these. [PvdM 11/16, updated 12/18]