Eye-catching steamboat models from the 19th century
19th-century models of steamboats are such a delight to look at. They may not have the elegant craftsmanship of present-day models. Some may not have been built to scale. Yet, they have a special charm that makes one feel that their makers loved boats and loved their art.
Click on each image for a larger view.
Patent Model for Steering Steam Ships, 1853, made for American inventor Frederick Ellsworth Sickels (1819-1895)
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Model of the steamboat ‘Lawrence’, 19th century
Courtesy of Christie’s
Image © Christie’s, shared by Marine Café Blog for educational purposes

Model of Florida steamboat Ocklawaha, 1868–c. 1890
Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum
1890s toy steamboat made by German toy company Marklin, with clockwork mechanism to operate the paddlewheels
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Mr.TinMD
Under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic licence