Trial trip of Fitch's steamboat on the Delaware River, August 22, 1787

Historical Images of Philadelphia Castner Scrapbook Collection
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Trial  trip of Fitch's steamboat on the Delaware River, August 22, 1787

Item Info

Item No: pdcc00973
Title: Trial trip of Fitch's steamboat on the Delaware River, August 22, 1787
Additional Title: The First Steamboat in the World
Media Type: Scrapbooks
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

Halftone reproduction of illustration shows the trial trip of the first steamboat ever built. Crowds gather to witness the historic event which took place on August 22, 1787, on the Delaware River. Although not a Philadelphian, John Fitch, the inventor of the boat, had spent some time in the city as a young man. Shows the unique arrangement of paddles by which it was propelled. On one of its first trips it proceeded as far as Burlington when the boiler burst. It was floated back to the city and a new boiler installed.. It then went to Trenton, attaining a speed of eight miles an hour.


Call Number: A917.481 P536 v.10
Creator Name: Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 - Compiler