[Steamboat Race]:

MATCH AT THE MISSISSIPPI.

[Berlin]: F. Sala & Co., [1858-1870]. Lithograph in bright, vivid colors, by an unidentified artist. Sheet size: oblong 14" x 19"; image size: 9-1/4" x 14-3/4" within decorative border. Titled below image"mat. Small upper corner margin chip [well away from image]. Very Good plus.

The 'Baltic' races an unnamed rival steamship. Built in 1850, the Baltic was a wooden-hulled steamer. Built for speed, it was one of the largest and fastest transatlantic steamers of its day, and won the Blue Riband for fastest transatlantic crossing in 1851. In the late 1850s, the Baltic operated as a coastal steamer in the eastern U.S., and as a transport for the Union during the Civil War. The Library of Congress owns a different print, titled 'A Steamboat Race on the Mississippi,' depicting the Baltic's race with the competing ship 'Diana.' The Baltic's competitor in our lithograph looks very much like the Library of Congress's 'Diana.'
The website Pixels explains that the two steamboats "engaged in a neck-to-neck race between New Orleans and Louisville, a distance of 1382 miles." The Library of Congress print "depicts what is regarded as being one of the most exciting and closest races of the era wherein the Baltic eventually emerged triumphant."
According to the British Museum, the Sala firm flourished during the 1850s and 1860s. Item #38506

Price: $500.00