House to right. Paddleboat on river to left. Horse and carriage and two passengers riding down lane in center. A second carriage with three passengers heading in opposite directions.
Though New England scenes of rural homelife were the most common, Currier & Ives produced prints of homes from all areas of the country. This print illustrates the firm’s frequent motif of a two-story home, this time set next to the Mississippi River. Produced six years after the Civil War, the image features African-Americans in significant locations including in the background plantation, riding in a carriage with a white couple, near the house’s front gate and walking along the river bank. A paddle steamship and Spanish moss complete the southern scene. The print may hold the record for the Currier & Ives image most reproduced. It is estimated that “A Home on the Mississippi” has been copied over 3.5 billion times for the label on Southern Comfort liquor bottles.
