The Mississippi in Time of Peace

Currier & Ives issued more than thirty lithographs of the great Mississippi River; those pictures showing steamboats ranked among the most popular. 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. In the glowing light of the late afternoon sun, this print presents the bustle of life along the Mississippi. The scene is filled with steamboats, including one (named "Express") along the shore being loaded with barrels, as an indication of thriving commerce. In the foreground, the crew of a flatboat relax as they indulge in a bit of merrymaking. In the background, a ferry with a sail transports passengers and animals across the river. Created at the end of the American Civil War, this print conveyed a nation restored to peaceful wellbeing and prosperity.

Nathaniel Currier, whose successful New York-based lithography business had thrived since 1835, produced thousands of hand-colored prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. After1857, when Currier made James Merritt Ives a partner, the renamed Currier & Ives firm continued until 1907. 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. This rare Civil War era print ranks among her finest.