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Ohio River Keel Boat Model
American, c. 1899 |
C.R. Luscombe (model builder)
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Painted wood model of the celebrated river keel boat that launched the era of the Ohio and Mississippi River steamboat. Model has an iron paddle stern wheel that turns in the back, painted red; forward and aft cabins; smoke stacks and cabins painted pink with painted doors and windows. The deck is painted to resemble wood slat flooring. This model was exhibited at the City of Pittsburgh Exhibit at the Philadelphia Sesqui-Centennial Exhibition in 1926.
The steamer New Orleans was built in Pittsburgh in 1810 at the initiative of Nicholas Roosevelt, in partnership with Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston. It was the first steamer to travel down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, in a celebrated voyage in 1811 undertaken by Roosevelt and his pregnant wife to prove to skeptics that steamboat navigation was viable on these rivers. The voyage was more eventful than the Roosevelts expected, encountering earthquakes, Indians in war canoes and even a rare Louisiana snowfall, but nevertheless made it to New Orleans and launched the era of the Ohio and Mississippi River steamboat. Extensive historical documentation can be found at a web site devoted to Nicholas Roosevelt's 1811 Steamboat New Orleans. Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall wear, toning, soiling. Reference: Evans, Nelson W. "The First Steamboat on the Ohio." Portsmouth, Ohio: Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly. July 1907. Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 310-315. http://www.myoutbox.net/nrevans.htm (17 October 2002) |