"Hove To" for a Pilot

Pictures of ships and life at sea were popular subjects for many nineteenth-century Americans. This lithograph depicts a large three-masted sailing vessel with sails set in various positions against the wind to slow its progress. As the nautical term "hove to" in the title indicates, the sails have been adjusted to reduce or balance the wind action to fix the boat more or less in place; technically, a "heaving to" sail adjustment causes the wind to press against the forward side of the cloth, rather than from the aft side as it normally would to propel the vessel forward. Thus stalled, this print shows that the ship was ready for the approach of a rowboat, containing two rowers and a marine pilot. As soon as the pilot was aboard, he would steer the ship by repositioning its sails to take full advantage of the wind action, which is quite intense as the choppy waves and the heeling (or tipping) sailboat (at left) indicate.

Nathaniel Currier, whose New York-based lithography establishment 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. 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 partner; the business was subsequently renamed Currier & Ives. Over the decades, people eagerly acquired 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.