This drawing of the 1905 eclipse was given to me by my grandmother, who had obtained it from a Mrs Hamilton-Meikle of Strathpeffer, Scotland, some years ago. I have done a little research into the circumstances of the drawing. I have had to make a few assumptions and the details presented below may not be entirely correct. If you can add anything to this history, then please do let me know.
The RAS library holds '104. F. Dawtrey Drewitt: mezzotint of total solar eclipse, 30 Aug. 1905, Spain, 2 copies.' I suspect that mine is a third copy of the same drawing. I will check this, and see what, if any, dedications, the RAS copies have when I am next at Burlington House.
Dr Frederick George Dawtrey Drewitt (1848 - 1942) was a pathologist by profession, but had other interests including zoology, botany and presumably astronomy. He was a fine artist and his water-colours were exhibited at the Royal Academy.
The 1905 August 30 eclipse was a member of Saros 143, a later member of that series occured on 1995 November 24, which I observed from India. The1905 track started in Canada, crossed the Atlantic, crossed Spain, where Drewitt observed it from Torreblanca, and then went on to North Africa. This was the last total solar eclipse to be seen from Libya until 2006 March 29. There was a big expedition to Labrador to observe the eclipse. The maximum duration of 3 minutes and 46 seconds occured over northern Spain, so if the Ortona was on the centre line, Drewitt must have had just about the maximum time possible to make his drawing.
The Royal Greewich Observatory archives contain the papers of the eighth astronomer royal, William Christie, detailing ... expeditions to observe the solar eclipses of 1898, 1900, and 1905, beginning the tradition of Royal Observatory eclipse expeditions.
Fred Espenak has produced a map of the track here.
There is an interesting account of the eclipse (in French) as observed in Sfax, Tunisia, by the abbot Theophilus Moreux at http://naturnet.free.fr/moreux/eclipse1905.htm together with a drawing, showing a corona very similar to that depicted by Drewitt.
The drawing was made aboard the S.S. Ortona. I do not know if ship's names are reused, but The Ships List reveals that a ship called the Ortona was built in 1899. She was used for the Australia service of the Orient Line - Pacific Steam Navigation Company until 1906, and then transferred to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. Later she was renamed the Arcadian and ended up being torpedoed in the Eastern Mediterranean during the First World War.
There is a reference here which reads 1905 The 14th of October, the SS. Ortona from London arrive in Brisbane via Sydney with a Mr. Urry on board, unclassified. Did the Ortona intercept the eclipse path en-route to Australia, or had it undertaken a special cruise to see the eclipse, prior to sailing for the antipodes?
The drawing is dedicated to Mrs Grove-Hill with Dr Drewitt's kind regards. I thought I would have no chance of identifying Mrs Grove-Hills, but in fact Edmond Herbert Grove-Hills (1864 - 1922) was President of the RAS 1913 - 1915, and secretary of the Royal Institution 1915 - 1922. It seems very likely that Drewitt would have known Grove-Hills. Grove-Hills married Juliet Spencer-Bell in 1892, and I surmise that this was the person to whom Drewitt presented this drawing.
Copyright Nick Quinn, 2005
