The Bosphorus, Screw Propeller Steam Vessel

Description

This engraving depicts the iron-hulled, propeller-driven steamship Bosphorus, built in 1849, navigating the Bosphorus. The woodcut engraving is notable for both its sails and the smoke rising from its funnel. This visually demonstrates the hybrid maritime technology of the period, which combined steam and sail power. The Bosphorus was 175 ft (approximately 53 meters) long, 25 ft (approximately 7.6 meters) wide, and powered by an 80-horsepower engine. Launched at the end of 1849 by the Liverpool-based General Screw Steam Shipping Company, the ship regularly transported passengers and cargo on the Liverpool-Gibraltar-Malta-Istanbul route. Beginning in 1851, the Bosphorus began operating on the Plymouth-Cape Town route, arriving in Cape Town after a 40-day voyage. This route, previously only available via sailboats or land, became an important innovation representing the speed and reliability of steam maritime transportation thanks to the Bosphorus.