Eastern and Maine Central Rail Road Line. Direct Through Route to the Rangeleys, Moosehead Lake, Mt. Desert and White Mountains

Currently not on view

Eastern and Maine Central Rail Road Line. Direct Through Route to the Rangeleys, Moosehead Lake, Mt. Desert and White Mountains

1874

Charles R. Parsons (American, 1844–1920) , and Lyman W. Atwater (American, 1835–1891) Published by Currier & Ives, New York (1835–1907)

The nineteenth-century New York printmaking firm Currier & Ives published thousands of lithographic prints that adorned private homes across America. The images ranged from delicate still-lifes and small landscapes to compositions intended to captivate the public with their bold color and grand scale. While most publishers waited for customers to place orders, Currier & Ives hired artists to draw and print with the expectation that buyers would follow. The bustling firm also collaborated with railways to produce portraits of locomotives to lure fresh travelers. Depictions such as this one, made for the Eastern and Maine Central Rail Road Line, were often reissued with the same illustration appearing under a different company name. The pictorial announcements on the border promote a variety of local services---from hotels to hatmakers---emphasizing the image's function as both art and advertising.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

Eastern and Maine Central Rail Road Line. Direct Through Route to the Rangeleys, Moosehead Lake, Mt. Desert and White Mountains
(with outer border of black and white pictorial advertisements), Reworked variant of An American Railroad Scene: Lighting Express Trains Leaving the Junction

Date:

1874

Artists:

Charles R. Parsons (American, 1844–1920) , and Lyman W. Atwater (American, 1835–1891) Published by Currier & Ives, New York (1835–1907)

Medium:

Color lithograph with border composed of wood engravings and letterpress

Dimensions:

Image: 19 1/4 x 32 1/8 inches (48.9 x 81.6 cm) Sheet: 27 7/8 x 39 1/2 inches (70.8 x 100.3 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

Gift of Kathy and Ted Fernberger, 2009

Accession Number:

2009-215-6

Geography:

Made in New York, New York, United States, North and Central America

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Currently not on view