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RE: Dolphin

From: wbutcher <wbutcher~at~netvigator.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2003 19:54:38 +0800
To: "'Jules Verne Forum'" <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

Ian,
 
Good to get your message. I'm not sure if Delphin means anything, but a
search of the WWW for "le Delphin" or "the Delphin" produces quite a few
non-Verne results, of which some refer to boats. I suppose you might
just argue that this is due to Verne, ie they're all post-1860s, but my
hunch is that it was a recognized boat name even before.
 
Best,
 
Bill
 
1/F, 46A lung Mei Village, Taipo, Hong Kong wbutcher~at~netvigator.com
http://home.netvigator.com/~wbutcher/
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il [mailto:owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il] On Behalf
Of Ian Thompson
Sent: 01 September 2003 16:30
To: Jules Verne Forum
Subject: Re: Dolphin
 
Bill,
Thanks for the mention of "Delphin", which I was unaware of. To the best
of my knowledge there is no such word in French and Verne normally keeps
to fairly formal rather than fanciful names for his ships. Perhaps it
was a misreading of his handwriting in the ms? I certainly struggle to
read his original handwriting! There is no mention of a "Delphin" in
the Tod and MacGregor build list which gives each ship built a name and
number, followed by the technical specifications. The Clyde-built
Dolphin finished its career on the "Royal Route", on the Crinan to Oban
section i.e. what was to become part of the itinerary in the Rayon Vert,
but that was written much later of course by which time the Dolphin had
ceased to exist after a not very glorious period as a blockade runner.
In any case, she was a paddle steamer, not a screw driven vessel as
described by Verne. So I tend to think that Verne invented the name but
what is remarkable is his research into the shipbuilding on the Clyde,
which presumably would have been from French sources (?). To have named
a yard which existed, locating it exactly and also the name of the best
engine builder on the Clyde at that time, Napier, must have taken some
effort. He didn't visit the shipyard area in his 1859 journey, just the
harbour area at Glasgow.
Regards,
Ian
Received on Mon 01 Sep 2003 - 14:57:53 IDT

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