Merchant Ship Collection

Lighthouse warning a clipper ship of dangerous shores
Sailing ship passing a lighthouse marking the way to home port, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

South Street docks in New York City, 1870s
Merchant ships unloading along South Street, New York City, 1870s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Brooklyn Bridge when newly opened, 1883
Brooklyn Bridge over the East River, looking toward Manhattan, 1883. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

French frigate, 1700s
Armed French frigate of the 18th century. Hand-colored woodcut of an illustration

New York harbor, 1850s
New York City, viewed from Brooklyn, 1850s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Spanish pirates attacking English merchantmen
Spanish ships capturing English ships with supplies for the colonies. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Steering a sailing-ship through stormy seas
Sailors at the wheel of a merchant ship in a gale, 1800s. Hand-colored engraving of a 19th-century illustration

Lake Erie grain boat in a snowstorm
Steamship carrying grain on Lake Erie in a snowstorm, headed for Buffalo, New York, 1880s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Wall Streets Tontine Coffee House in the late 1700s
Tontine Coffee House, corner of Water and Wall Street, meeting-place of New York brokers who formed the NY Stock Exchange. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Merchant ship attacked by Chinese pirates
Chinese pirates attacking a European merchant ship, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

White men bringing cleanliness to native cultures, 1890s
" White mans burden" is to teach cleanliness, described in a Pears Soap ad, 1890s. Hand-colored halftone reproduction of a 19th-century illustration

Erie Canal boats at their New York City dock
Erie Canal boats anchored on the Hudson River, New York City, 1850s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Chicago grain elevators loading ships, 1870s
Grain loaded in Chicago on ships bound for the Erie Canal, 1870s. Hand colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

City of Chicago in 1860
Overview of Chicago, looking west from Lake Michigan, 1860. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Entrance to the Erie Canal at Buffalo, New York, 1880s
Lake Erie freighters and Erie Canal barges along the waterfront of Buffalo, New York, 1880s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Dutch galleons, 1600s
Dutch traders galleons at sea in the 1600s. Hand colored 19th-century woodcut reproduction of an earlier illustration

Sailing-ships at sea
Sailing ships on the high seas. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Ships entering the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico, 1700s
Sailing ships at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the late 1700s. Hand-colored engraving of a 19th-century illustration

Port of Honolulu, 1870s
Harbor and city of Honolulu, capital of the Sandwich Islands, 1870s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

American clipper ship, close-hauled on a wind. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Young sailor climbing the rigging
Young sailor going aloft on a sailing ship, 1800s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Clipper ship loading supplies for the California gold fields
Clipper ship R.B. Forbes in Boston, taking on cargo for California, 1851. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Cargo ship at a New York City wharf, 1870s
Unloading bananas from a sailing ship, New York City, 1870. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

Busy New York harbor, 1880s
Boat traffic in New York Citys harbor, 1880s. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration

EVNT2A-00010
Impressment of an American sailor by a British naval officer, early 1800s. Hand-colored halftone of a 19th century illustration

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