As a mark of Turner's growing reputation, in 1816 he could demand from Longmans, the publisher, the princely sum of 25 guineas-the equivalent of a half-year's wages for skilled craftsmen-for each of the 120 watercolors he was to produce for their History of Yorkshire (reduced for financial reasons to 20 issued as a truncated History of Richmondshire).

Typical of this famous "year without summer," it rained when Turner sketched at Aysgarth and a dramatically stormy sky once overcast his watercolor as is seen in Scott's  engraving.  Continued exposure to light in the 19th century faded the blues from the watercolor.