This item from the Popular Graphic Arts collection recently caught the eye of Phil Michel,  Digital Conversion Coordinator in the Prints & Photographs Division.

The iron steam ship “Great Eastern” 22,500 tons: constructed under the direction of I.K. Brunel, F.R.S. — D.C.L. commanded by Capt. William Harrison. Print by Currier & Ives, copyrighted 1858. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.00795

Phil commented, “Early engineering marvels often catch my eye. Some of the ships, buildings, bridges, tunnels, etc., that were built in the industrial age were just phenomenal in their scale. I also like the combination of technologies…sailing masts and sidewheels.”

Learn More:

• View some of the other feats of engineering represented in the Popular Graphic Arts Collection, which consists of prints created ca. 1700-1900 that were sometimes used for advertising and educational purposes: bridges, railroads, ships, and tunnels (cartoons are also found in the Popular Graphic Arts Collection, see if you spot the image that offers an “insiders” perspective on a tunnel!).
• Explore some of the other Prints & Photographs Division collections that feature wonders of the built environment:
  • Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey
  • Panoramic Photographs
  • Highsmith Archive
  • Horydczak Collection
  • Gottscho-Schleisner Collection
  • Korab Collection.