Original caption. The low pressure steamboat Isaac Newton passing the palisades on the Hudson River New York 1855

Currier and Ives made this lithograph, The Low Pressure Steamboat Isaac Newton Passing the Palisades on the Hudson River, New York, sometime between 1857 and 1907. As a popular printmaking firm in 19th-century America, they mass-produced images that reflected and shaped the cultural values of their time. This print is not just a depiction of a steamboat; it's a celebration of American progress, technology, and the romantic ideal of conquering nature. Note the steamboat's imposing size against the backdrop of the Palisades, symbolizing human dominance over the natural world. This imagery connects to the cultural context of the time, reflecting the American belief in manifest destiny and the relentless pursuit of economic expansion. Prints like these were distributed widely, reinforcing a particular vision of American identity that valued progress and expansion. To truly understand this print, we need to consider its place within the history of American printmaking and popular culture, and the narratives about American identity it helped to construct.