Origin of Steam Navigation. 'Honor to Whom Honor is Due.' A View of Collect Pond and its Vicinity in the City of New York in 1793
[Printed by Francis Michelin, New York], 1846. First Edition. Print. Item #290456
ISBN: B0008C2HD8
Lithograph, oblong format 14.25 x 18.4 inches, in double-ruled black frame on sheet 15.6 x 19.25, printed in black. Illustrated with image of Fitch's boat the Perserverance upper right, Fulton's boat Clermont upper left, and Fitch's drawing of his Model Boat made in 1797. On left is a brief biography of Fitch, followed by 3 testimonials from those who witnessed the event and a sworn statement by Hutchings attested to by the Commissioner of Deeds of New York. In middle is a map of lower Manhattan from Lispenard St. to Warren St., and from Broadway St. to Chatam St. with Collect Pond (where the paddle-wheeled steamer navigation took place) in center. On right are Remarks of the event with Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston in attendance, Description of the boat, boiler and machinery. John Fitch (1743-1798) developed a steam-powered boat with the earliest experiments on the Delaware River, 1786-1790. He was the first in the world to form a steamboat company and to place a steamboat in service for carrying passengers. He received his first patent in 1791 This lithograph celebrates the world's first successful steam-powered paddlewheel navigation which occurred on Collect Pond in 1793. See Nature 130:161, 1932; Scientific American 13: 46, 395, July, 1858. Appleton II, p. 471; Allibone I, p.600; Peters, America on Stone, p.282. First edition (first printing). Very good copy, previously folded, with tanning along some fold edges. Short closed tears along upper fold edges.
Price: $400.00