The French Ironclad, Atalante, in the Fi…

Rare engraving taken from a photograph of the French warship Atalante in Fitzroy Dock on Cockatoo Island, with Balmain in the background, taken in August 1873 by Beaufoy Merlin.

Built in 1865, the iron clad Atalante had a protruding brass bow for ramming lesser vessels. It had taken part in the Franco Prussian War in 1870 and at the time of this photograph was the flagship of the Pacific Squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral Baron Roussin.

From the original edition of the Town and Country Journal.