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Fall River Line. Grand Saloon of the World Renowned Steamers Bristol & Providence…

Buffalo & Chicago: White & Brayley, [ca. 1875]. Hand-colored lithograph, 18.75” x 32.875” plus margins. CONDITION: Good, recently backed with Japanese tissue, expertly-repaired tear extending through “n” in “Line” in upper margin 10” into image, crease at lower-left corner, minor losses to corner reinstated, a few creases and repairs to small tears and breaks.

A scarce view of the opulent “grand saloon” in the newest steamers of the Fall River Line, which connected New York City and Boston for nearly a century.

Two enormous Corinthian columns support the elegant interior of the “world renowned steamers Bristol and Providence…making in connection with the Old Colony Rail Road the Great U.S. Mail Route between New York and Boston via Newport and Fall River.” A sweeping staircase at the back leads up to the balcony, which, rimming the entire room, overlooks the plum-colored upholstery, exuberant flower arrangements, and elegantly-dressed passengers below. The decor is all cream and gold, and two chandeliers hang from the decorated ceilings. The dimensions of the hull, saloon, and machinery, as well as the capacity of the steamers (“800 persons”), musical entertainment, and speed, are listed with the names of the president and general passenger agent on either side of the steamers’ names and route.

The Fall River Line, established in 1847 by the Bay State Steamboat Co., was a steamboat and rail connection between New York City and Boston. The Bristol and Providence joined the fleet in 1867, two years before the line was sold to the Narragansett Steamboat Company, and were among the largest steamers afloat at the time. In 1874 the line was acquired by the Old Colony Steamboat Co., an arm of the Old Colony Railroad Co., led by New Hampshire politician and businessman Onslow Stearns. At its peak, the Fall River Line’s steamers were “the absolute height of luxury,” with “libraries, writing rooms, hair salons and barber shops, telephone service in every room, concerts,” fine dining, and more (Madeiros).

James P. White and James Brayley were lithographers, map and job printers, and engravers in Buffalo, New York in the early 1870s. They began operating in about 1871 out of 24 West Swan Street in what was then the Colt Block, and after suffering a fire in 1875, moved to the Ransom Building at 135–37 Main Street. By 1879 they had sold the firm to Clay & Company.

No holdings recorded in OCLC, nor do Google searches yield any examples of this print.

REFERENCES: Madeiros, Dan. “Southcoast Wonders: Fall River Line was the peak of luxury travel during the Gilded Age,” The Herald News (Fall River), Oct. 17, 2022 online.

Item #7661

Price: $3,500.00

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