Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern is a photograph taken by Robert Howlett in November 1857. It shows Brunel, the British engineer, during the troubled first attempt to launch the SS Great Eastern, by far the largest ship constructed to that date. Brunel is standing in front of a large drum of chain used to restrain the ship while it was lowered down the launching ramp. Brunel's trousers and boots are muddy from the shipbuilding yard and he is smoking one of his customary cigars. His pose has been described as casual and self-assured. The image has become iconic of the industrial era and the 19th century and has been included in many published collections of photographs. It was widely reproduced at the time of the ship's eventual launch in Jan