A comparison between this sketch and some of the sketches of Dunbar in the
Bass Rock and Edinburgh sketchbook demonstrates the different purposes that the two sketchbooks served on Turner’s tour of Scotland in 1818. A sketch of
Dunbar, with the Harbour and Castle; the Cheviot Hills in the Distance (folio 24; Tate
D13365; Turner Bequest CLXV 24) in the
Bass Rock and Edinburgh sketchbook, for example shows objects and topographical features in outline alone with minimal details, no shading and no indication of tone or colour, while this sketch of Dunbar employs more details of architecture, topography, and local atmosphere, as well as employing shading. It is also more carefully and precisely drawn. As one or more than a dozen sketches of the castle, town and nearby coast, the
Bass Rock and Edinburgh sketch functions as a rapid topographical and factual notation, or as a quick compositional experiment, while many of the sketches in the
Edinburgh, 1818 sketchbook such as this one, have the potential to be used as the basis of a composition. There are, however, many drawings in the
Edinburgh, 1818 sketchbook that are mere rapid notations and need to be seen alongside similar studies before they yield up much information.