Champions of the Mississippi, c. 1866 by Currier & Ives

Champions of the Mississippi, by Currier & Ives depicts a dramatic nighttime steamboat race on the Mississippi River, rival vessels trailing fire and smoke as a crowd cheers from a torch-lit riverbank. Currier & Ives, the prolific nineteenth-century New York lithography firm, issued the scene in 1866 as one of more than thirty prints the company produced of Mississippi River steamboat life, prized for their crisp draftsmanship and vivid hand-coloring.

Artist: Currier & Ives. Date: 1866.

Champions of the Mississippi. Historic American Lithography Canvas Print.