Clipper Ship "Comet" of New York in a Hurricane off Bermuda on her Voyage from New York to San Francisco, October 1852

Marine views and other pictures of ships at sea have long appealed to collectors and popular taste. After gold was discovered in California in 1849, fast ships were needed for cargo trade and passenger transport. New York City shipbuilders soon excelled at constructing the finest, fleetest and best equipped clipper ships, and Nathanial Currier's lithography firm was eager to satisfy the public's desire for pictures of these ships. The Clipper Ship "Comet" was built in New York by William H. Webb for the Bucklin & Crane mercantile shipping firm; it launched in July 1851 for use during the California Gold Rush (although later it was used for the China tea trade). In this dramatic image, the storm tossed ship appears almost to capsize having sustained damage to her sails and masts during a hurricane. After the storm, repairs were made and the "Comet" then made an excellent run around Cape Horn to San Francisco in 79 days.

Nathaniel Currier, whose successful New York-based lithography firm began in 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life and its history. People eagerly acquired such lithographs featuring picturesque scenery, rural and city views, ships, railroads, portraits, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. As the firm expanded, Nathaniel included his younger brother Charles in the business. In 1857, James Merritt Ives (the firm's accountant since 1852 and Charles's brother-in-law) was made a business partner; subsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued until 1907.