Deserters [i.e. Desertas] taken on the spott from the Pallas, December 1774

No. 20 of 74 (PAJ1976 - PAJ2049). On two sheets of paper, joined vertically with the title and date inscribed below the drawing, on a backing slip, plus the signature 'p[er]GB' (by Gabriel Bray). J. A. Hamerton's 'World Pictorial Gazetteer' (London 1932) describes the Desertas as 'Four small rocky islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They are situated S. E. of Madeira, to which they are administratively attached, and are called Bugio, Chao, Deserta Grande and Sail Rock. Uninhabited, they are visited only by fishermen and herdsmen.' This is a very rare view of these remote islets, taken as the 'Pallas' sailed south for West Africa in December 1774 (see also PAJ2009). They are not specifically mentioned in either Bray's or the captains log of the voyage but are likely to have been among points of land sighted in passing about 29 -31 December. This is one of 73 drawings by Bray (plus one signed 'NF 1782') preserved in a 19th century album that was purchased for the Museum by the Macpherson Fund of the Society for Nautical Research in April 1991. They have now been separately remounted. Bray (1750-1823), was second lieutenant of the 44-gun 'Pallas' under Captain the Hon. William Cornwallis (1744-1819)
Gabriel Bray

Original size: 285 mm x 456 mm