Hand-coloured. Plate 1 from Dodd's 'Seaport' set, see below, and engraved from his own oil of 1792 (BHC3867) which suggests that all the originals were also oils. Lettered below image with title embedded in the dedication to the king from 'Dodd, Woodfall & Freeman'. With production details: 'Painted by Robt. Dodd / Plate 1st of a Collection of the Sea Ports / Published under the Patronage of the King June 4 1793 / By Freeman & Woodfall. Printsellers to His Majesty, No. 95, Strand'.

Dodd did two series of dockyard and seaport prints, easily confused in image terms. The early and slightly smaller unnumbered Royal Dockyard set was published by Boydell, comprising Blackwall (though not a Royal yard but see below) and Deptford (PAH9746) issued on 25 March 1789; Woolwich (PAH9725) and Chatham (PAH9714) on 29 October 1789; Plymouth (PAH9767) on 1 September 1790 and Portsmouth (PAH9742) on 1 November 1790. The larger numbered ones in a series called 'a Collection of the Sea Ports & of the River Thames' were published by Freeman on 4 June 1793: no.1 Greenwich (PAI7098), no. 2 Limehouse (PAI7128), no. 3 a view of the river and shipping near the Tower of London (no NMM copy), and no. 4 Dover (PAI7087).

While Blackwall was a civilian yard, it built many navy ships and Dodd's view of it (PAH9724), published with that of Deptford in March 1789, shows the launch of the 74-gun 'Bombay Castle', a warship built for the Navy as a gift of the East India Company. This, and to make a projected set of six rather than five, is presumably why it was included in the otherwise naval dockyard group. The original oil painting (see above) from which this Greenwich print was taken was the only one of both sets that was exhibited at the Royal Academy - where most of Dodd's many appearances were marine and battle pieces: it was shown there in 1793. [PvdM 10/05, amended 1/16]