Snapshots of the Past

[Illustrations of 2 women on board the brig MARINE, after the sinking of the CENTRAL AMERICA: 1. Mrs. H-t, unintentionally on her part, turned into a pretty Mexican, wearing serape; 2. Mrs. M-n as she appeared when disguised as a boy, that she might help to bail out the ship] – Historic Reproduction

[Illustrations of 2 women on board the brig MARINE, after the sinking of the CENTRAL AMERICA: 1. Mrs. H-t, unintentionally on her part, turned into a pretty Mexican, wearing serape; 2. Mrs. M-n as she appeared when disguised as a boy, that she might help to bail out the ship], 1857 — antique engraving
[Illustrations of 2 women on board the brig MARINE, after the sinking of the CENTRAL AMERICA: 1. Mrs. H-t, unintentionally on her part, turned into a pretty Mexican, wearing serape; 2. Mrs. M-n as she appeared when disguised as a boy, that she might help to bail out the ship], 1857. Antique engraving from the Historic Print Archive collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This antique engraving of [Illustrations of 2 women on board the brig MARINE, after the sinking of the CENTRAL AMERICA: 1. Mrs. H-t, unintentionally on her part, turned into a pretty Mexican, wearing serape; 2. Mrs. M-n as she appeared when disguised as a boy, that she might help to bail out the ship] brings a moment of history to your wall. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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[Illustrations of 2 women on board the brig MARINE, after the sinking of the CENTRAL AMERICA: 1. Mrs. H-t, unintentionally on her part, turned into a pretty Mexican, wearing serape; 2. Mrs. M-n as she appeared when disguised as a boy, that she might help to bail out the ship]

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The two women in this wood engraving were survivors of the steamship *Central America*, which sank in a hurricane off the Carolina coast in September 1857, and the caption shows them aboard the brig *Marine*, which took survivors from the wreck. One figure is Mrs. H-t, drawn in a Mexican serape, and the other is Mrs. M-n, shown dressed as a boy so she could help bail water from the ship. The caption's tone is playful, but the scene reflects the hardship of the rescue, when passengers who had lost their belongings wore whatever clothing they could find. The sinking also carried a large cargo of gold from California, which made it one of the most widely reported maritime disasters of its day. The record's names are abbreviated, so the women's full identities are not confirmed here.

Created / published1857
Medium1 print : wood engraving.
SubjectsIllus. in: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1857 Oct. 10, p. 297 (bottom). Reference copy may be in SSF (Gr) - SHIPS--DISASTERS--1857--CENTRAL AMERICA. This record contains unverified data from caption card.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 815 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-108810

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