The Great East River Suspension Bridge, Connecting the Cities of New York and Brooklyn -- from New York Looking South-East

Although the Great East River Suspension Bridge (later named the Brooklyn Bridge) was under construction during the 1870s, it was not completed until 1883, so this majestic view of the entire bridge from the Manhattan side anticipates how it will look spanning the East River. The New York tower, which was completed in 1876, appears at the left side of the image. Beneath it, in the lower left foreground, a paddlewheel steamer (named the "Swamp Robin") is moored in a slip next to a dock crowded with workers, piles of cargo (in crates, barrels and sacks), and two horse-drawn wagons. The bridge span across the East River, which is full of boat traffic (sailing and steam vessels), commands the central part of the image, and leads to the tower on the opposite Brooklyn shore, where warehouses, factories and several tall chimneys spew smoke. Pictures of the Great East River Bridge (which was inaugurated in May 1883) were so popular with the public that, starting in 1872, Currier & Ives produced twenty lithographs of it in various sizes (some views from the New York side, others from the Brooklyn side). This particular lithograph was used as an advertisement for Mulford, Cary & Conklin (its name prominently displayed in the sky), a leather goods store located near the Manhattan approach of the bridge.

Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. Expansion led, in 1857, to a business partnership with James Merritt Ives; supsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued until 1907. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs, such as those featuring spectacular American landscapes, or rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments. The artist team of Charles R. Parsons and Lyman Atwater, noted for their maritime scenes and city views, created over thirty images for Currier and Ives.