Views of the southwest pass of the Mississippi River [Composite of 3 views: 1. southwest pass with pilot town in backgrd.; 2. lighthouse and west view of the pass; 3. pilot town] – Vintage Photo Print
![Views of the southwest pass of the Mississippi River [Composite of 3 views: 1. southwest pass with pilot town in backgrd.; 2. lighthouse and west view of the pass; 3. pilot town], 1861 — antique engraving](https://images.jameslantos.com/img/71/71d91559a047-L.webp)
(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
Few images capture their era like this antique engraving of Views of the southwest pass of the Mississippi River [Composite of 3 views: 1. southwest pass with pilot town in backgrd.; 2. lighthouse and west view of the pass; 3. pilot town]. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.
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Views of the southwest pass of the Mississippi River [Composite of 3 views: 1. southwest pass with pilot town in backgrd.; 2. lighthouse and west view of the pass; 3. pilot town]
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The three views in this composite focus on Southwest Pass, the deepest of the Mississippi River's mouths and the one most ships used to reach New Orleans. Pilot Town, shown in the background of one view, was home to the river pilots who guided vessels over the shifting sandbars at the river's mouth. The engraving appeared in *Harper's Weekly* on December 7, 1861, when the Union blockade of Southern ports had put the Gulf coast in the news. Its pairing of the lighthouse with the pilots' settlement shows how much of the delta's commerce depended on local navigation knowledge.
| Created / published | 1861 |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
| Notes | Illus. in: Harper's Weekly, v. 5 (1861 December 7), p. 774. Title and other information transcribed from caption card. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 7,057 × 5,067 px · prints to 24 × 17 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | tif09050_ViewsofthesouthwestpassoftheMi |
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