Steamboats Passing at Midnight – On Long Island Sound

Currier & Ives produced hundreds of lithographs featuring ships of all kinds. In this moonlit scene with a lighthouse in the left background, two sidewheel steamships cruise in opposite directions: the Bristol (foreground) heads towards the left, and the Providence (background) heads towards the right. .



The Providence (which launched in 1866), and its sister ship the Bristol (which had its maiden voyage in 1867), were built with the largest engines of their day – both considered the finest marine vessels travelling between New York City (via Long Island Sound) and Rhode Island. These mammorth, luxurious steamers, dubbed "floating palaces," had 240 staterooms and 300 berths for accommodating up to 1,200 passengers, in addition to a cargo capacity equivalent to forty railroad freight cars. Both travelled successfully along the New England coast for years, with the Providence maintaining service until 1901. Unfortunately, however, the Bristol was destroyed by fire on December 30, 1888, upon its arrival in Newport Harbor.

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.