Name/Title
BURNING OF THE HENRY CLAY NEAR YONKERSEntry/Object ID
L.2007.186Description
New dangers occasionally accompanied new technology on the Hudson River. Fast steamships carried travelers and goods quickly up and down the river since Robert Fulton's Claremont made its first trip in 1809. Competition between the numerous steamship companies grew fierce, and the railroad began to chip away at profits after 1851. Witnesses recounted that a race between the Henry Clay and the Armenia on July 28, 1852 pushed both ships to their maximum speed and resulted in the furnace fire on the Henry Clay. The flames quickly engulfed the whole ship. Among the many victims of the accident near Yonkers: noted landscape architect Andrew Jackson Downing and Louisa Hawthorne, the sister of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Tragically, many children were also among the passengers lost. The accident led to changes in safety standards. Not long after the event, Congress passed laws requiring steamboat inspections and pilots' licenses.
Colored lithograph of a boat engulfed in flames with figures struggling in the water: a long white steamship identified on side as "HENRY CLAY"; the bow against a high stone wall; people stand on the wall and try to help people climbing from the deck of ship; at ship's center section, waterwheel and steam pipes engulfed in flames; crowded stern deck; people jump from the boat into the tumultuous water; an American flag flying over the crowd; men, women, and children struggle in the water; immediately below the scene on far left printed: 'LITH. & PUB. BY N. CURRIER,"; in center, printed: "Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1852 by N. Currier, in the Clerk's Office of the District-Court of the Southern District of N.Y."; on far right, printed: "152 NASSAU STREET N.Y."; below, printed title: "BURNING OF THE HENRY CLAY NEAR YONKERS."; below, printed: "WHILE ON HER TRIP FROM ALBANY TO NEW YORK ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON JULY 28TH 1852."; below, printed: "The rapid spread of the flames forced the passengers into the water. Mothers and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters were drowned together, whilst trying to save each other. Little children buffeted the waves in vain for a few moments, and then sunk to rise no more. I Persons on board about 500 of which number nearly 100 are supposed to have perished. I 720."Artwork Details
Medium
Paper (wove), Ink, Watercolor, Paper (wove), ink, watercolorMade/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Nathaniel CurrierAttribution
LithographerDate made
1852Dimensions
Dimension Description
OverallHeight
10-7/8 inWidth
15-7/8 inDimension Notes
Display Dimensions: 10 7/8 x 15 7/8 in. (27.6 x 40.3 cm)Condition
Notes
Remarks: Yellowing throughout; liquid stain, bottom left; two tears mended on recto with clear adhesive tape, one on bottom, four inches from right edge, the other on right, four inches from bottom edge; large liquid stain, top left; recto is extremely discolored and soiled; discoloration along edges from removed adhesive tape; print mounted to mat with two pieces of adhesive tape on recto, along top.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
William DieboldNotes
Former ownerGeneral Notes
Note Type
Curatorial RemarksNote
Diebold Box #42Note Type
StorageNoteNote
Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Administrative Office, Archive Room, Shelf O3, B9Note Type
DepartmentNote
Library