A lithograph depicting the oak-hulled paddle steamer 'Great Western' passing Portishead point on her first voyage to New York. Designed by Isambard Kingdm Brunel, she was the first shipbuilding project for the Great Western Steamship Company and built for regular trans-Atlantic service. The ship launched in July 1837 from Wapping (now Prince's) Wharf and moved to London for a fitting out. On her return trip to Bristol, however, a fire broke out in the boiler room and injured Brunel. On her first maiden journey to New York depicted in this print, 50 of the original 57 paying passengers cancelled their trip citing the trip as too risky.
