One of the most famous shipwreck disasters in the eighteenth century, the Guardian was wrecked on an iceberg twelve days out of Cape Town. Commanded by Lieut. Edward Riou, HMS Guardian was one of the first two supply ships destined for the fledgling colony of New South Wales. Laden with two years' worth of provisions the ship left London in July 1789 but was wrecked on 23rd December of the same year. Through the extraordinary seamanship of Caption Riou the ship made it back to Table Bay, but those who had made for the lifeboats were never seen or heard of again. The ship was beached near Cape Town and most of her materials saved and sent on to Australia at a later date, however the colony suffered serious hardship until further supplies arrived. The two columns of text beneath the image are taken from a letter by Lieut. Riou to the Admiralty describing the scene. Riou himself was killed at the battle of Copenhagen commanding Nelson's frigates.

Robert Dodd (1748-1816) was a marine painter, known for his depictions of the French Revolutionary Wars. His most well-known work showed Captain Bligh being cast adrift from the Bounty following the Mutiny in 1789, the same year as the wreck of the Guardian.

Mezzotint, 472 x 627mm (plate size), 595 x 840mm (sheet size), edges of sheet somewhat frayed, old vertical fold to centre, otherwise a fine example of this dramatic scene.