A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
Minimally covers the terminus of the wind-powered (sail) era and more fully documents the peak of the engine (steam) era of commercial cargo and passenger vesselsk, including freight and dockage services, maintenance and provisioning, ferry service, navigation (tug and tow) assistance, plus leisure cruising and touring. There is not a significant amount of material on battle or war ships. Includes both short distance routes such as lakes, rivers, and islets, and longer trans-oceanic crossings.
Documents within the collection consist of handbills, broadsides, leaflets, books, business cards, advertisements, insurance forms, wreck reports, passenger lists, baggage tags, freight manifests, rate cards, correspondence on letterhead stationery, booklets, newspaper clippings, postcards, menus, periodicals, manuals, photographs, engravings, woodcuts, sketches, bills of lading, receipts, catalogues, ledgers, journals, purchase orders, broadsides, brochures, custom forms, schedules, shipping and receiving documents, early steam guides, timetables, lithographs, announcements, etc. There are no navigational nautical maps. There is very little in the way of international import/export records. However, domestic and North American freight services are well-covered through invoices, bills of lading, manifests, and receipts for goods and services.
Some materials cover the history and development of steamships, particularly in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the iron screw replacing the wooden paddle steamer in the 1850s. The late 1860s brought the compound engine, which led to the steamship, previously used for the conveyance of mails and passengers, to compete with the sailing vessel in the carriage of cargo for long voyages. The 1870s brought improvements in accommodation for the passenger, with the midship saloon, conveniences in state-rooms, and covered access to smoke rooms and ladies cabins.
Ownership of specific lines and vessels was very fluid throughout shipping history, including the renaming of vessels. Mergers, dissolution, and absorption of fleets were frequent. Thus, researchers should independently seek out a more detailed history for any entity of particular interest.
The general maritime business series focuses on good and services related to maritime operations such as repair, shipbuilding, parts, ticket agents, chandlers, groceries, coal supply, dockage, wharfs/marinas, etc.
Operation records of named vessels contains primarily bills of lading and similar receipts for the movement of material goods or in-water services such as tow and tug assistance.
The largest series covering shipping lines and conglomerates offers a wide assortment of miscellaneous, nonexhaustive operation records for cargo and passenger lines and corporations, typically those with multiple holdings. These documents may include receipts, bills of lading, correspondence, and financial ledgers, plus promotional material for services and routes offered. Passenger sailings and luxury cruise documentation may contain menus, passenger lists, itineraries, shore excursion information, souveniers such as luggage tags, ticket stubs, and postcards. See also the subject category Menus, for additional examples of passenger and cruise ship menus.
When not associated with any of the above, general examples of materials related to the industry have been by arranged by their material type such as images, reports, and serial publications. More formal documentation, especially legal and reports, can be found here.
Narrative type materials related to lore, history, and building and design specifications have been sorted by subject. A scarce amount of material covers ships used for military service. Likewise, there are a few examples of maritime related material from the art world, mostly in the form of catalogues for exhibits or auction of paintings and scale models.
A note on vessel names: those used as contract carriers of mail and when in service, were entitled to unique prefix designations such as Royal Mail Ship (RMS.), otherwise, the ship name may be preceded by the more generic S.S. for single-screw steamer or steamship, SV for sailing vessel, PS for paddle steamer, RV for research vessel or similar type prefix. USS is the standard for the United States Navy commissioned ships while in commission, with HMS used for His/Her Majesty's Ship of the British Royal Navy.
Some of the major lines/companies represented in the collection include: American Line, American Steamship Company, Anchor Line, Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Cunard-Anchor Line, Cunard Line, Cunard Steam Ship Company, Limited, Cunard White Star Line, Eastern Steamship Lines, Furness, Withy & Company, Hamburg American Line (HAPAG) / Hamburg Amerika Linie, Holland America Line (N.A.S.M. / HAL), Inman Line, International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM), International Navigation Company, North German Lloyd (Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen), Panama Pacific Line, Peninsular and Oriental, Red Star Line, Royal Mail Steam Packet, U.S. Mail Steamship Company, United States Lines, White Star Line.
Arrangement:
Ships, Boats, and Vessels is arranged in three subseries.
Business Records and Marketing Material
General Maritime Businesses
Operation Records of Named Vessels
Shipping Lines/Conglomerates
Miscellaneous Business Records and Marketing Material
Genre
Keepsakes
Images
Ledger
Legal
News Clippings
Regulatory
Reports
Serial Publications
Stamps/Cigarette Cards
Associations and Societies
Images, Artwork, Racing, Technical Literature
Subject
Battleships, Warships
Destination Guides
Employment and Licensing
Insurance
Maritime History
Maritime Models and Art
Revue Generale Des Sciences
Warshaw Administrative Records
Related Materials:
Several other Warshaw Subject Categories may have closely related material such as Submarines and Transportation. For casual and recreational boating see Boats and Boating Equipment and Yachts. Other subject categories that may have related materials include: Canals, Dredging, Engines, Menus, Railroads (point of common transportation transfer), and Tours. .
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Steamboats [Ships, Boats, and Vessels] is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Ships, Boats, and Vessels, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 29.9 x 40.2 cm, hand coloring, image 22.8 x 28.3 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
[1867-1868]
Scope and Contents:
View of ferry boat laden with passengers in front of village.
Biographical / Historical:
Felice Beato was born in Venice around 1825. During his lifetime, he accompanied the British troops in India, recording images of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, and the Franco-British troops in China to cover the end of the Second Opium War in 1859. With his friend Charles Wirgman, Beato opened a photography studio in Yokohama, Japan in the early 1860s, and produced many images of the Japanese and their lifestyle, as interpreted by the Westerners. Selling his studio to Baron von Stillfried in 1877, Beato eventually died in Burma around 1908.
Local Numbers:
R133 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 133
General:
Title taken from writing on mount.
Writing on bottom right of print.
This print also published under title, Boat in Front of Village, with date 1867-1868. Worswick, Clark (1979). Japan: Photographs. New York: Penwick Publishing.
This print also published under title, River Crossing. Coverdale, Linda (1986). Once Upon A Time. New York: Friendly Press Inc.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 30.9 x 46.6 cm, hand coloring, image 9.6 x 14.1 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
ca. 1875
Scope and Contents:
A richly garbed man is about to enter an ornate palanquin usually reserved for the upper class. A number of retainers kneel around the palanquin. Outdoor setting.
Biographical / Historical:
Baron von Stillfried was an Austrian noble who arrived in Japan in 1868. In 1871, von Stillfried opened a photo studio in Yokohama under the name, Messrs. Stillfried & Co. In 1877, in partnership with Hermann Anderson, von Stillfried bought Felice Beato's studio and negatives, and continued to take photographs of Japanese people. He eventually left Japan for Hong Kong in 1881.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 30.9 x 46.6 cm, hand coloring, image 9.9 x 14.1 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
ca. 1875
Scope and Contents:
Four men propel a two wheeled wooden cart. Outdoor setting next to wall.
Biographical / Historical:
Baron von Stillfried was an Austrian noble who arrived in Japan in 1868. In 1871, von Stillfried opened a photo studio in Yokohama under the name, Messrs. Stillfried & Co. In 1877, in partnership with Hermann Anderson, von Stillfried bought Felice Beato's studio and negatives, and continued to take photographs of Japanese people. He eventually left Japan for Hong Kong in 1881.
Local Numbers:
R135.54 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 135.54
General:
Title and photographer taken from Once Upon A Time. Coverdale, Linda (1986). Once Upon A Time. New York: Friendly Press Inc.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 30 x 40.3 cm, hand coloring, image 21.4 x 27 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
[1860 - ca. 1900]
Scope and Contents:
Ferry boat with passengers at Biwajima Benten in Kanazawa (金沢琵琶島弁財天). Various people also stand upon the bank. Outdoor setting.
Biographical / Historical:
Felice Beato was born in Venice around 1825. During his lifetime, he accompanied the British troops in India, recording images of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, and the Franco-British troops in China to cover the end of the Second Opium War in 1859. With his friend Charles Wirgman, Beato opened a photography studio in Yokohama, Japan in the early 1860s, and produced many images of the Japanese and their lifestyle, as interpreted by the Westerners. Selling his studio to Baron von Stillfried in 1877, Beato eventually died in Burma around 1908.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (photographic print : on mount 34.5 x 50 cm, hand coloring, image 21 x 26.6 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia -- Japan
Date:
[1860s]
ca. 1860 - 1869
Scope and Contents:
Three carriers transport a seated young woman in a kago (carrier). Outdoor setting with shrubbery in the background.
Biographical / Historical:
Felice Beato was born in Venice around 1825. During his lifetime, he accompanied the British troops in India, recording images of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, and the Franco-British troops in China to cover the end of the Second Opium War in 1859. With his friend Charles Wirgman, Beato opened a photography studio in Yokohama, Japan in the early 1860s, and produced many images of the Japanese and their lifestyle, as interpreted by the Westerners. Selling his studio to Baron von Stillfried in 1877, Beato eventually died in Burma around 1908.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 21.8 x 27.8 cm, image 21.3 x 27.4 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
[1860 - ca. 1900]
Scope and Contents:
Two kago (palanquin) bearers pose next to a young woman seated in the kago. Possible outdoor setting.
Local Numbers:
R199 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 199
General:
Title devised by Henry and Nancy Rosin.
This print also published under title, "Kago, Passengers and Bearers," attributed to Kusakabe Kimbei, and with date 1880s. Worswick, Clark (1979). Japan: Photographs. New York: Penwick Publishing. Originally part of the Benjamin Smith Lyman album
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 27 x 34.8 cm, hand coloring, image 20.5 x 26.5 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Fuji, Mount (Japan)
Japan
Japan -- Description and Travel
Date:
[1960 - ca. 1900]
Scope and Contents:
View of stream with fisherman and country road with rickshaw and driver, with Mount Fuji visible in the background.
Biographical / Historical:
Born to a family of textile merchants in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kusakabe Kimbei moved to Yokohama in 1859. Although unclear, Kusakabe apprenticed under either Felice Beato and/or Raimond von Stillfried (Bennet, T. (1996) Early Japanese Images. Charles E. Tuttle Company: Rutland Vermont and Tokyo, Japan.) Kusakabe managed a studio in Yokohama, first at Bentendori until 1881, then later at Honcho. His photo studio was well received by many, including foreigners.
Local Numbers:
R258 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 258
General:
Title taken from print.
Original title and number printed in lower right corner.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (Photographic print : on mount 21 x 25.4 cm, hand coloring, image 19 x 24 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Tokyo (Japan)
Date:
[ca. 1890s]
Scope and Contents:
View of shops, pedestrians, and horse-drawn trollies at the foot of Shinbashi Bridge in Tokyo.
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Italy in 1841, Farsari moved to Yokohama from the United States in 1877 as a tobacco merchant, but soon delved into the art of photography. In 1885, Farsari purchased the Japan Photographic Association studio and stock from Baron von Stillfried. While a fire destroyed the entire stock, it was quickly reproduced within a matter of months, and Farsari moved his studio to where the Yokohama Photographic Company was located. A. Farsari and Co. would eventually become one of Japan's largest photography studios, with over thirty-one Japanese artists. Farsari eventually returned to Italy in 1890.
Local Numbers:
R269 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 269
General:
Title and number taker from print.
Title and number printed in lower right corner of print.
"Main Street Tokyo" printed in pencil lower left corner of mount.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Photographic print (Album 1, page 4, hand coloring, image 20.5 x 26.5 cm.; on mount 26 x 33.5 cm)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Photographs
Place:
Asia
Tokyo (Japan)
Japan
Date:
[1860 - ca. 1900]
Scope and Contents:
View of Sumida River. Two women stand on the bank, while three passengers and an oarsman sit in the small boat. Architectural structures line the opposite bank.
Photographer unidentified.
Local Numbers:
R296 (Rosin Number).
FSA A1999.35 296
General:
Forms part of Rosin album number 1. Page 4.
Title taken from label affixed to bottom center of mount.
This album, with covers of lacquer and ivory, was produced by a shop which used photographs by Beato, Von Stillfried, Kimbei, and others, without including their descriptions or numbers. Each photograph is described by a label affixed below the print. The work is almost certainly by A. Farsari, who owned the stock of all of these photographs in the 1880s. Kimbei kept some stock he had purchased from Von Stillfried in his own shop. Confusion and uncertainty regarding attribution of 19th century Japanese photography is well-discussed in published material.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Photographic print (Album 1, page 44, hand coloring, image 20.6 x 26.4 cm.; on mount 26 x 33.5 cm)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Photographs
Portraits
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
[1860 - ca. 1900]
Scope and Contents:
View of young woman in palanquin with two bearers. Indoor studio setting with painted background.
Biographical / Historical:
Baron von Stillfried was an Austrian noble who arrived in Japan in 1868. In 1871, von Stillfried opened a photo studio in Yokohama under the name, Messrs. Stillfried & Co. In 1877, in partnership with Hermann Anderson, von Stillfried bought Felice Beato's studio and negatives, and continued to take photographs of Japanese people. He eventually left Japan for Hong Kong in 1881.
Local Numbers:
R336 (Rosin Number).
FSA A1999.35 336
General:
Forms part of Rosin album number 1. Page 44.
Title taken from label affixed to bottom center of mount.
This album, with covers of lacquer and ivory, was produced by a shop which used photographs by Beato, Von Stillfried, Kimbei, and others, without including their descriptions or numbers. Each photograph is described by a label affixed below the print. The work is almost certainly by A. Farsari, who owned the stock of all of these photographs in the 1880s. Kimbei kept some stock he had purchased from Von Stillfried in his own shop. Confusion and uncertainty regarding attribution of 19th century Japanese photography is well-discussed in published material.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Item (photographic print, hand coloring, 19.8 x 26.3 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
[1860 - ca. 1900]
Scope and Contents:
Two men are positioned at the head of the sake cart, while two men are placed behind, posed in the action of pushing the cart. Large barrels of sake (Japanese rice wine) are stacked upon the cart. Outdoor setting.
Biographical / Historical:
Born to a family of textile merchants in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Kusakabe Kimbei moved to Yokohama in 1859. Although unclear, Kusakabe apprenticed under either Felice Beato and/or Raimond von Stillfried (Bennet, T. (1996) Early Japanese Images. Charles E. Tuttle Company: Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan.) Kusakabe managed a studio in Yokohama, first at Bentendori until 1881, then later at Honcho. His photo studio was well received by many, including foreigners.
Local Numbers:
R010 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 010
General:
Title taken from print.
The photographer's original identification number, 84, and original title, Freight cart, are printed in the bottom right corner.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
1 Lithograph (Reproduction of a Japanese scene of a woman in a palanquin. On the back is a coffee advertisement: 1 card, Color , 13.5 x 17.5 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Lithographs
Photographs
Advertisements
Portraits
Place:
Asia
Japan
Date:
[1860 - ca. 1900]
Donaldson Brothers, N.Y., [1860 - ca. 1900]
Local Numbers:
R413 (Rosin Number)
FSA A1999.35 413
General:
Title taken from print.
Title printed in bottom center of print.
Full title, "Drink McLaughlin's XXXX Coffee. Japanese Carriers. Photographed from life."
This print forms part of an advertisement for McLaughlin's XXXX Coffee, with advertisement and text on verso.
Note on verso reads: Two Important Questions Answered. 1st. Why is Mclaughlin's XXXX COFFEE Glazed? 2nd. What is Glazing composed of? Coffee being a vegetable, consequently pourous, the glazing seals the pores and keeps the Coffee for months as fresh as the day it comes from the roaster. THIS IS WHY IT IS GLAZED. The glazing is made from Corn Starch and Reclarified Sugar, nothing can be more nutritous and healthful. We account for the immense increase in our business to having our own houses in Rio de Janeiro and Santos, saving the intermediate or secone-hand profit, and putting all this saving in the quality of our Coffee. W.F. McLAUGHLIN & CO., Chicago. Rio de Janeiro. Santos. A Beautiful Picture card in Every Package. 16 Designs in this Set. (over.)
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
Henry and Nancy Rosin Collection of Early Photography of Japan. FSA.A1999.35. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Purchase and partial donation.
![View Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Steamboats [Ships, Boats, and Vessels] digital asset: Finding aid](https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?max=120&id=https://sirismm.si.edu/siris/findingaid.gif "Finding aid")
