The Bard brothers : painting America under steam and sail

"Before the railroad, the great transportation innovation in American life was the steamboat, first successfully developed commercially by Robert Fulton in 1807. [...] Much of what we know about how steamboats looked between 1835 and 1900 comes from the meticulously detailed paintings of John and James Bard, twin brothers who were born in New York City in 1815, coincidentally the same year that Robert Fulton died. The Bard brothers taught themselves to paint, turning out their first joint work at the age of twelve, and they became the greatest chroniclers of the steamboat era. [...] To celebrate the Bards' achievements, The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, has produced the traveling exhibition that stimulated this book. Aiding in the museum's work has been Anthony J. Peluso, Jr., without doubt the leading authority on the work of the two brothers. [...] The narrative tells the life stories of the brothers, who grew up in modest circumstances in lower Manhattan. [...] The book also offers delightful details about the steamboats themselves, their colorful and competitive owners (including Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould), and the river and harbor traffic of the Hudson River and Long Island Sound. For the Americana buff, anyone interested in United States history and technology, for the steamboat fancier and the folk art enthusiast, this volume is a must."--Provided by the publisher.