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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Ship Columbia and Sloop Washington to the Northwest Coast. 1787
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Ship Columbia and Sloop Washington to the Northwest Coast. 1787

Artifact IDMO 1948.41.1
Object Type Lithograph
Artist (American, 1868 - 1940)
Date1924
Mediumpaper
Dimensionsoverall H 20 15/16 in x W 25 1/2 in (53.2 cm x 64.8 cm )
Physical DescriptionA black and white lithograph of the ships COLUMBIA and WASHINGTON in rough waters. It depicts the three-masted COLUMBIA in the center foreground, and the smaller, single-masted sloop WASHINGTON in the left background. The print is initialed and dated in the lower left corner of the image: G.C.W. / 1924. The title is centered below the image: AMERICAN SHIPS / II / SHIP Columbia AND SLOOP Washington / TO THE NORTHWEST COAST. 1787. The print is signed by the artist in pencil below the image, lower right: George C. Wales. Below the image, lower left, is a pencil notation that reads: No.12.
Historical NoteThis 1924 print was included in a series of etchings and lithographs by George C. Wales entitled, "American Ships," published in 1927. Franklin Roosevelt purchased the print in 1924 from Goodspeed's in Boston, Massachusetts.

The print is one of ten maritime pictures (MO 1948.41.1-10) that had hung in FDR's New York office at the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland when he was a Vice President of the Company from 1920-1928. They stayed there until FDR sent them in 1933 to Basil O'Connor as a gift. O'Connor, in turn, presented the pictures to the FDR Library in 1947.

Daniel Basil O'Connor (1892-1972) was a longtime friend and political adviser to FDR. He was Roosevelt's law partner from 1925 to 1933, and later served as president of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis-March of Dimes drive against poliomyelitis.
Additional Details
Credit LineGift of Basil O'Connor
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPrints and Paintings (National Archives Identifier 778817)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view