2636983 Heaving the Lead, pub, c.1841 (hand coloured engraving) by Cruikshank, George (1792-1878); Private Collection; (add.info.: A sounding weight is a roughly bell-shaped mass, usually made of lead, averaging about five kilograms in weight, with a sturdy attachment lug at its apex and a tallow cup in its spreading base. A line was attached to the sounding lead (lead line) with graduated markings at fixed length intervals. The sounding lead was led out in the water hanging on the lead line and the line was veered until the lead reached the sea bed. From the marks on the lead line the depth of water could be read.); The Stapleton Collection; English, out of copyright.