Cable grappling illustration, 1874-1924

Framed and glazed coloured drawing illustrating work of grappling a telegraph cable in deep water, made by Siemens Brothers and Company Limited, London, England, 1874-1924.

This is a scale drawing illustrating the challenges of locating and lifting submarine cables for repair. It shows the CS (Cable Ship) 'Faraday', owned by Siemens Brothers and Company. The tiny ship shown on the surface of the sea was in reality almost 110 metres long, giving an idea of the scale of the operation. Cables had to be 'grappled' to lift them up from the bottom of the ocean in order to make repairs and check for faults.