The Peak Cavern, Derbyshire: Great Tom of Lincoln, engraved by J. Smith Possibly 1803

Editor: Here we have "The Peak Cavern, Derbyshire: Great Tom of Lincoln," an engraving by J. Smith after Edward Dayes. It feels so dramatic, almost theatrical. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Oh, utterly! I'm transported to a gothic novel. The cavern's mouth yawns like a beast, the figures are dwarfed, aren't they? It's that sublime terror, the romantic era's delicious dance with nature's power. Editor: Sublime terror, I love that! Curator: Dayes captures that feeling. And note Smith's engraving – the play of light, the texture… It's not just documentation; it’s a mood. What do you make of the title, the "Great Tom of Lincoln"? Editor: I guess it’s a reference to the scale, to the cavern’s immensity. Curator: Precisely! A challenge to human perception, a brush with the infinite. Editor: I see the cavern, but now I feel it too. Curator: Exactly. It echoes in your soul, doesn’t it?