Museum Collections
Luce Center
Locomotive "DeWitt Clinton" in 1831
Object Number:
1975.3
Date:
1884
Medium:
Black ink and watercolor on paper, whose verso is printed with a patent license application, laid on card
Dimensions:
Overall: 11 1/4 x 17 7/8 in. (28.6 x 45.4 cm)
mat: 22 x 23 in. ( 55.9 x 58.4 cm )
Marks:
Inscribed and signed at end of copious inscription at lower right in black ink: "David Matthew."
Inscriptions:
Inscribed and signed at end of copious inscription at lower right in black ink: "David Matthew."
Description:
A scene of the various transportation systems associated with the Erie Canal and Mohawk and Hudson Railroad in 1831-32.
Gallery Label:
The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad Company laid its original seventeen-mile stretch of track between Albany and Schenectady in upstate New York in 1831 and first operated with horse-drawn cars, but the success of the southern railroads with locomotives resulted in the company placing an order in April 1831 for a locomotive with the West Point Foundry Association in New York City. It was given the name De Witt Clinton and was the first used in New York State.
Credit Line:
Gift of Estate of Hilda R. Williamson
Provenance:
Collection of Fred E. Williamson, President of New York Central Railroad, 1931-44
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.