Record

Ref No	DM1306/11/1/1/folio 190-193
Title	Letter from Isambard Kingdom Brunel to John Yates, secretary of the Eastern Steam Navigation Company
Description	Written from 18 Duke Street, London. The letter clarifies the conditions regarding payment in the contract with John Scott Russell and comments on Russell's efforts to ensure a good rate of progress on the ship and suggests that it might be useful if the Directors of the Eastern Steam Navigation Company were to make themselves aware of exactly how much detail had been discussed and decided upon even before the building of the ship began. The letter emphasises Brunel's desire not only to ensure that the ship is of sufficiently low weight but also that the weight is distributed in the most economic and efficient way and how this differs to some common ship-building practices and discusses the various conversations that had been held regarding the mode of launching the ship. The letter recommends the first payment be made to John Scott Russell for the building of the hull and explains that payment for work on the engines is not a question at the current time. There are some pencil annotations in the upper margin of Folio 191. This letter may have been copied out in DM162/10/12/folio 257.
Date	30 March 1854
Format	Manuscript volume
Extent	4 pages
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Access Conditions	This material is held at the Brunel Institute - please contact the Brunel Institute to arrange access.

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