Currier and Ives

Sinking of the Steamship OREGON of the Cunard Line

17 x 13 inches

A lithograph in original hand colour published by Currier and Ives in New York in 1878.

This image recounts the moment when the Steamship Oregon collided with an unknown schooner off the coast of Long Island on her voyage from Liverpool to New York, 14th March 1886. 845 people were rescued in this dramatic event. It comes from a large series of lithographs in original hand colour; published by Currier and Ives in New York 1880s and 1890s.

Nathaniel Currier started printing in New York in 1835 but the business really took off when he was joined by James Ives and the firm became known as Currier and Ives from 1857 onwards. All the prints were lithographic, drawn on limestone tablets, pulled by hand and then laboriously hand painted by a team of women who oversaw one colour each and earned $6 for every 100 prints completed.