2-798-746 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Arrival of "The Great Britain" Steam-Ship at New York, 1845. The SS Great Britain steamship, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was the longest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. Here we see '...the leviathan vessel passing Fort Hamilton and the Narrows. In the foreground are the crowd of spectators, and the battery of enormous guns....On Monday, the Great Britain was opened to the public at the rate of 25 cents a-head, and 12 cents extra to the engine-room; and thousands poured into New York to see the "big ship"'. She sailed from Bristol to New York '...against foul winds and cross seas, in 14 days, or 354 hours, giving an average speed for the whole voyage of somewhat more than 9 1/4 knots or nautical miles (which is equal to 10 3/4 statute miles) per hour'. From "Illustrated London News", 1845, Vol VII.