Description

Hand-colored copperplate engraving depicting a side view of a stranded whale, surrounded by spectators, some on horseback or in carriages. There are men, women, children, and two dogs in the assembly. The scene is drawn looking along the beach, such that the lines of the sea, the sand, and sand-dunes behind the shore join together at the horizon in the background. Under the image is an area of printed text in Dutch, and a vignette showing another view of the cachelot. The vignette is captioned "de Vis van agteren", in English, "The fish [whale] from behind". The main caption text reads, "Dese Cagelot Vis lang 64 Voet, is Gestrand tussen Zantvoord en Wyk-op-Zee, den 20 Feb. 1762. op't Strand in Openbaare Vyling Verkogt den 5 Maart voor 900 Guldens." This translates to, "This Cachelot, 64 feet long, was stranded between Zantvoord and Wyk-op-Zee, on 20 Feb. 1762. Sold on the beach in a public auction on March 5th for 900 guilders."