This etching depicts a busy wharf.  The tallest and thinnest structure, at the beginning of the quay, is identified, at its roofline, as the Thames Police. It has four stories of brick. At least a dozen densely packed buildings in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and materials recede toward open water. A score of different chimneys reach into the sky. A number of large sailing ships with tall masts at various angles appear to be anchored or bobbing in the distant harbor. There is a long, narrow skiff with oars in the foreground. A gentleman in a top hat waits beside it.  A dockworker repairs a larger boat and other men converse, stroll, or go about their work, hauling large sacks or a climbing ladder. The human figures are tiny and poorly defined giving emphasis to the haphazard buildings and a wide expanse of sky. The sky is bright with a breeze and a few cirrus clouds delineated by swirling or scattered lines. The etching is signed in the lower right.