Lithophane, porcelain, smear glazed, showing a scene in a second class railway carriage, the train is nearing a dockyard, from where the young boy is to go to sea, he is accompanied by his mother and sister and two other unrelated travellers and luggage; impressed mark 'PPM' and pattern number 732 on back, made by the Plauesche Porzellanmanufactur, Plaue, Thuringia, Germany, c1855-1875
The source of this design is 'Second Class - The Parting' (1855), a painting by Abraham Solomon (1824-1862) of which at least four examples exist, the original at Bowood House in Wiltshire, a copy in the National Railway Museum in York, one in a private collection and another in Southampton City Art Gallery
Accession no HMCMS:DA1980.22.37
Purchased with the assistance of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund