- Attack of the Gun Boats upon the City, & Castle of San Juan de Ulloa
Sheet: 10 × 14 1/8 in. (25.4 × 35.8 cm)
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In March of 1847, American ships bombarded fortifications of the Mexican port city of Vera Cruz in advance of a large-scale amphibious assault and a siege of the city. The Castle of San Juan de Ulloa (Ulúa) was a large and important fortification at the mouth of the harbor.
Lithographer Nathaniel Currier learned the printing trade as an apprentice at the Boston firm of William and John Pendleton, the first successful lithography firm in the United States. Currier moved to New York City with John Pendleton in the early 1830s and soon established his own firm there. Currier found success producing images of current events and making them available quickly and inexpensively. James Merritt Ives joined the firm in 1852 and became a partner in 1857.
Provenance[Kennedy Galleries, New York]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1958; given to MFAH, 1969.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed below image, center: Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1847 by N. Currier, in the clerk's office of the Distinct Court of the Southern District of New York
Inscribed below image, right: 152 Nassau St. Cor. of Spruce N. Y.
Inscribed below first line of text, from left to right: Falcon. Lt. Glasson. Reefer. Lt. Sterett. Vixen. Comd. Sands. Petrel. Lt. Shaw. Bonita. Lt. Benham. Spitfire. Comd. Tattnall. Tampico. Lt. Griffin.
Inscribed below second line of text: BOMBARDMENT OF VERA CRUZ, MARCH 1847 / ATTACK OF THE GUN BOATS UPON THE CITY, & CASTLE OF SAN JUAN DE ULLOA / COMMANDED BY JOSIAH TATNALL ESQ. U.S.N. / From a sketch taken on board the Steamer Spitfire, during the action, by J.M. Ladd U.S.N. / 467 [Sandweiss, Stewart, & Huseman 1989, no. 113]
Printed lower right below the image: 152 NASSAU ST. COR OF SPRUCE N.Y.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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