A Midnight Race on the Mississippi

Currier & Ives issued more than thirty prints of the great Mississippi River, with pictures of steamboats ranking among the most popular with the public. In the nineteenth century, steamboats provided important and practical large-scale transport of passengers and goods both up and down this mighty river; such riverboats navigated the shallow waters, as well as upriver against strong currents, thereby helping to develop trade between America's heartland and the Gulf Coast. Races between boats were often organized and commemorated in prints, such as the 1854 contest shown in this print: here, the "Natchez" (left) races the "Eclipse" (right) on the Lower Mississippi. In this scene dramatically illuminated by a full moon, passengers are shown on the upper decks, while below crewmen stoke the boilers of both boats, each going full speed on the calm waters, as flames, sparks and smoke stream from their smokestacks. Ultimately, the "Eclipse" was the victor.

Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography business 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. In 1857, Currier made accountant James Merritt Ives, his younger brother Charles's brother-in-law, a partner; renamed "Currier & Ives," the firm continued until 1907. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring landscapes, rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. Frances Flora (Fanny) Palmer was one of the most important artists working for Nathaniel Currier, and later Currier & Ives, between 1849 and 1868, when she produced approximately 200 of the firm's best landscapes and most engaging scenes of daily life. Although it was unusual for a woman to achieve such prominence in the print world of the day, Palmer deserves recognition for playing such a principal role for Currier & Ives firm.