Steamboat Lithographs Steamer N.W. THOMAS, serving the U.S. Quartermasters Dep't in 1861 The N.W. THOMAS in an early color lithograph. Since there are sailing ships in the distance on the left the locale was probably New Orleans. At the beginning of the Civil War the N.W. THOMAS was conscripted by the Federal government, thus the initials U.S. Q.M.D. on the paddlebox which stood for the United States Quartermasters Department which transported supplies of all kinds to troops fighting the war in the South. The N.W. THOMAS was built at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1853 — Length 190 feet — Breadth 49 feet — 419 Tons "After the taking of Paducah, Kentucky by the Union forces under Grant in September, 1861, steamboats of every kind, character, and description were commandeered by the government and ordered to Cairo, Illinois (where the Ohio River flowed into the Mississippi) immediately for government service. The immensity of this steamboat concentration was revealed to the people of Evansville, Indian when on September 18, 1861, a fleet of thirteen steamers, with the steamer N.W. THOMAS as flagship, and 120 barges, came down to Evansville where they laid over to receive further instructions before proceeding to Cairo. A large crowd was on hand at the wharf to greet the fleet." excerpted from "Evansville Steamboats During the Civil War" by Milford M. Miller Indiana Magazine of History, 1941 Volume 37, Issue 4 pages 359-381 The entire article can be found here: scholarworks.iu.edu Mississippi Lime Co. of Alton, Illinois 1970 reprint of J.C. Wild's SOUTH VIEW OF ST. LOUIS, 1840. Some of these early boats had what amounted to a ship's mast amidships, mostly to fly huge flags from apparently and there may have been a crow's nest as well where someone used to smoking tobacco might have some tolerance for black sooty smoke from the stacks when the wind blew it aft. The brace attached to the pilot house and anchored on the hurricane deck is a feature which I've seen in other graphics of boats from this era including one of the MISSOURI from 1850. The later system of tying them down with guy wires may have been a little more effective in gale force winds. City of Cincinnati Collection I suspected that the big boat in the color lithograph No. 536 published by Donaldson Litho. in Cincinnati circa 1890's was based appropriately enough on the City of Cincinnati and attached is visual evidence from the Murphy Library collection. What a Jim Dandy match. Captain Erasmus T. Plumbworthy City of Cincinnati (Packet, 1899-1918) Built in 1899 at Jeffersonville, Indiana by Howard Ship Yards Lost in ice at Cincinnati, Ohio in January 1918 Owned by Louisville and Cincinnati Packet Company; Commodore Laidley (White Collar Line) Officers and crew were Captain Jack Lindenburn (master); William C. Lepper, Sr. (purser); Baylor Spratt (chief engineer); Charles W. Brasher (pilot, circa January 1910) Operated on the Ohio River, Licking River Fred Way's Packet Directory: Number 1066; Home port or owner's residence 1899, Cincinnati, Ohio. Original price $40,000. Engines from Anchor Line's City of Hickman. Teamed up with City of Louisville in the Louisville-Cincinnati trade. This was a well-proportioned sidewheeler. She came out carrying the whistle from the last Telegraph but it sounded so much like the Tell City, it was exchanged and after 1907 she had the old Bonanza whistle which had last been on the double-cabin Cincinnati. On January 20, 1910 while ascending the Ohio River, the City of Cincinnati's wheel hit the corner of a coal barge; the coal barge sank Identifier: Neg. 8002 U of Wisconsin - La Crosse Historic Steamboat Photographs wisc.edu Photo of the City of Cincinnati. The same steamboat in a poster. More Lithographs This was scanned from a calendar art print which is approximately 40% the size of the large color lithographs (16 1/2 x 41 1/2 inches) that were framed and displayed in bars and saloons to promote the product of the St. Louis brewing company. The BAILEY GAZERT and REGULATOR in Cascade Locks Attached detail from 1905 color lithographed post card of the BAILEY GATZERT and the REGULATOR in the Cascade Locks on the Columbia River between the states of Washington and Oregon. Beautiful color lithograph promoting the GRAND REPUBLIC. GRAND REPUBLIC Way Number 2438 A side wheel packet with a wood hull, originally built as the GREAT REPUBLIC (Way #2438) in 1867 and then remodeled and renamed GRAND REPUBLIC in 1876. Owned by Captain William H.Thorwegan, she operated on the Mississippi River until she burned at St. Louis on September 9, 1877. Must've been state of the art bas relief lithography and dye cut technology for 1890. Apparently a sort of thin film was applied over the image was printed and due to heat and exposure over a hundred years plus resulted in some crackling/blistering visible on the main deck and paddle box etc. The two flags at the stern appear to be British yachting banners so the design and manufacture of this may have been done in England. The racer ROB'T E. LEE in a celebratory black and white lithograph published after her 1870 win over the NATCHEZ at the conclusion of their famous race. Way's Packet Directory Number 4777 gives a colorful and detailed account of the race, New Orleans to St. Louis, June 30 to July 4, 1870. The ROB'T E. LEE Lee made the trip in 3 days, 18 hours, and 14 minutes, the all-time record for a commercial steamboat. Other trips included New Orleans to Cairo, 3 days, one hour, one minute, and New Orleans to Natchez, 17 hours, 11 minutes, both in 1870. On December 22, 1870 she collided with the Potomac opposite Natchez, Mississippi. The Lee sustained much damage and was run out on a sandbar until she could be raised and repaired. She brought her record cotton cargo of 5741 bales to New Orleans in 1874. When she left New Orleans for Portland, Kentucky, for dismantling, mid-April, 1876, several thousand came to see her off, with many salutes en route to mark the closing of her career. Her hull was taken to Memphis for use as a wharf boat. Much of her equipment went into her successor, also known as the ROB'T E. LEE. La Crosse Steamboats Neg. 44084. The ROB'T E. LEE deserves to have her own page one of these days. George Fuller: A Steamboat Race on the Mississippi, (that took place between the Baltic & Diana in March of 1858) Created by A. Weingartner Lithography NY. Published by M. Knoedler, New York, Goupil & Co., London and Paris in May of 1859 This image source: Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. La Jolla, CA raremaps.com "Bird's Eye?" : sidewheel steamboat about to plunge from the top of a huge waterfall This is a detail from a color lithograph depicting a "surrealistic" concept: a big sidewheel steamboat that is about to plunge from the top of a huge waterfall on the scale of Niagara Falls. Look out below! Listed on Chairish at $190.00 or best offer chairish.com William Richard Crutchfield "Riverboat" Dimensions: 12" x 19 3/8" Lithograph printed in colors. Matted and framed. Signed and dated 1967, numbered 54/56 in pencil and blind stamped at lower right Purchased directly from the artist's gallery and housed in a prominent New York corporate modern and contemporary art collection, which was recently divested by a NY auction house. annexgalleries.com William Richard Crutchfield was born in Indianopolis, Indiana on January 21, 1932. Crutchfield studied at Herron School of Art, Indiana University in Indianapolis, receiving his Bachelors in Fine Art. He later received his Masters in Fine Art in 1960 at Tulane University in Louisiana. Crutchfield worked at both Gemini and Tamarind print workshops, beginning in the 1960s, and produced 'Air Land Sea', a suite of 13 lithographs. It was complete during his second visit as a guest artist at Tamarind. In the portfolio, Crutchfield employed his characteristic style by using tusche applied with a pen to create the inventive subject matter. Crutchfield then had the printer apply various colors of ink to one roller to create the blended effect of the palette. He later applied his printmaking skills using screenprinting. Crutchfield exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 1967; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Arts, Florida in 1971; New Jersey State Museum, Trenton in 1971 and 1972; California Prints in 1972; Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1972; Dorsky Gallery, New York in 1972. He won awards: Mary Miliken award for travel in Europe; Herron School of Art, Indiana University in 1956; Fulbright scholar, State Art Academy in Hamburg, Germany in 1961. William Crutchfield died in San Pedro, California on April 20, 2015. Artist Crutchfield may have been inspired by the steamboats in the old American Bird's Eye view lithographs of rivertowns. The high angle perspective and even the style of the drawing is reminiscent of those views, so this could go on a Bird's Eye page. The lithograph is also listed on "Chairish" for the same price etc. as eBay so I've changed the caption to reflect that and have also attached a file of the piece matted and framed. To the caption is added a biography of Crutchfield from the Annex Galleries site. "SAVING SINNERS, SCENE ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI" Library of Congress Detroit Publishing 1906-07 color lithograph post card loc.gov Baptism of African American men in the Mississippi with onlookers in rowboats. Probably taken on the Lower Mississippi. Color added by a Detroit Publishing artist. Detroit Publishing Co. between 1906 and 1907 No. 10551. - Illustrated in Detroit Publishing Company. Little "phostint" journeys; tours through the wonder places of America ©1912, volume 29. With the exception of images credited to public institutions, everything on this page is from a private collection. Please contact Steamboats.com for permission for commercial use.* All captions provided by Dave Thomson, Steamboats.com primary contributor and historian.