1 / 3
Click To Zoom
Lot 66
American School, 19th Century
Own a similar item?
Estimate
$600 - 800
Price Realized
$826
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
American School, 19th Century
The Sidewheel Steamboat Laura M. Starin
pastel on paper with gold leaf
signed Frank A. Fernekes, lower right
16 x 24 1/2 inches.

Laura Mears Poole Starin (1826-1906), for whom the Laura M. Starin was named, was the wife of the vessel's owner, John Henry Starin (1825-1909), a congressman, financier, and entrepreneur. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, Starin entered the freight and logistics business as the founder and president of the Starin City River & Harbor Transportation Co.

In 1885, legal action was brought against Starin for his use of the Laura M. Starin and other boats to ferry passengers and cargo to and from Manhattan without the appropriate licensing. Close inspection of this work reveals what appears to be a police raid of the vessel, wherein illicit ferry passengers were discovered.
Condition Report
Auction Specialists
Search