Biographical Note
Alfred Van Santvoord Olcott was born in 1886, to a family thathad been operating steamboats on the Hudson River for three generations. His great-grandfatherstarted an excursion business on the Hudson in 1835. In 1861 his grandfather, CommodoreAlfred Van Santvoord, converted the river excursion business into a steamboat line that wouldbe come know as the Hudson River Day Line. The line regularly transported passengersbetween New York City and Albany on a fleet of side-wheelers. The Day Line developed areputation for its style and elegance, promoting steamboat travel as glamorous as well asconvenient. In 1895, Van Santvoord named his son-in-law, Eben Erskine Olcott, GeneralManager. When Van Santvoord died in 1901, Eben Olcott became president of the company. He expanded and modernized many facets of the operation and the company thrived under hisdirection. The line attracted passengers with its grand ships, such as the Albany and the NewYork, which were appointed with luxurious furnishings and original artwork. The Day Line alsofostered a relationship with the local railroad lines, linking the departure and arrival points of thetwo modes of transportation to facilitate travel.
Following his graduation fromPrinceton University in 1909, Alfred Olcott, Eben Olcott's son, became Treasurer of the HudsonRiver Day Line. He was promoted to General Manager in 1917. After his father's death in 1929,he succeeded him as president of the company. Olcott struggled to keep the Day Line afloatduring the 1930s as the nation's economic woes impacted all sectors of activity. A briefresurgence in riverboat travel following the World War II pulled the line out of debt and seemedto point toward a prosperous future. The boom, however, was short-lived. As the era ofsteamboat travel was winding to a close, the Hudson River Day Line suffered heavy profit lossesin 1946 and 1947 and Olcott was forced to discontinue it service at the end of 1948.
Alfred Olcott went on to serve as a director of the Hudson River Conservation Society, aspresident of the Federated Chambers of Commerce of the Hudson River Valley and as a memberof the executive committee of the State Chamber of Commerce. He died in Booth Bay, Mainein 1961.
Return to topScope and Content Note
TheAlfred Olcott Hudson River Steamboat Collection spans the period 1871-1951 and containsphotographs, blueprints, prints, and ephemera relating to steamboat travel on the Hudson. Thecollection is divided into three series: Steamboat Lines; Miscellaneous Views; and OversizeMaterials.
Series I. Steamboat Lines contains photographs, prints, clippings, andephemera dating 1886-1951. The material is arranged alphabetically by subject with themajority relating to the Hudson River Day Line, although the Central Hudson Line and theHudson River Navigation Company are also represented. Individual steamers highlightedinclude: the Benjamin B. Odell; the Homer Ramsdell; the Newburgh; the Fort Orange; theAlbany; the Alexander Hamilton; the Chauncey M. Depew; the DeWitt Clinton; the HendrickHudson; the Mary Powell; the New York; the Peter Stuyvesant; the Robert Fulton; theWashington Irving. The photographic material includes both vintage prints and copy prints ofsteamer exteriors and interiors, and passengers. Included in the photographic material is analbum documenting the construction and 1927 launch of the Peter Stuyvesant, a Hudson RiverDay Line steamer. The ephemera consists primarily of advertisements, schedules, and brochurespublished by the steamboat companies. There are also several souvenir postcards.
Series II. Miscellaneous Views consists primarily of photographs of steamers and sites along theHudson dating from 1875-1950, with some printed material and ephemera of similar subjectmatter and period. Three photographs show the tour through Howe Caverns, a tourist attractionnot far from Albany. Another series of photographs shows steamboat launches at the JamestownExposition, an event at Sewells Point, VA (now the Norfolk Naval Base) from April toNovember 1907 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first permanent Englishsettlement in America. There are two folders of photographs showing various boats, most ofwhich are steamboats, although not necessarily Hudson River Day Line boats. Several folders ofunidentified material include copies of paintings of non-maritime subjects, a menu, views ofboats, and people. Three folders in this series contain views of the Hudson River and of sitesalong the river.
Series III. Oversize Materials contains original art, broadsides,photographs, and ship plans and blueprints from the Hudson River Day Line dating from1871-1930. The original art for advertisements includes pencil sketches and ink sketches forbroadsides describing the line. The printed broadsides advertise the line from the 1880s throughthe first two decades of the twentieth century, providing information on particular steamersroutes and schedules. The earliest item in this series is a page from an 1871 FrankLeslie's Illustrated Magazine concerning the steamer Mary Powell. Two steamers, theAlbany and the Hendrick Hudson, are documented in photographs. Another group of photosshows Hudson River piers. The inspection certificates for the Hudson River Line steamers datefrom 1879-1917. The ship plans and blueprints are of particular interest in the documentation ofindividual steamers. Those represented include: the Albany; the Alexander Hamilton; theClermont; the Chauncey Depew; the Dewitt Clinton; the Hendrick Hudson; the Mary Powell; theNew York; the Robert Fulton; and the Washington Irving.
Return to topArrangement
The collection is divided into three series.
| Series I. Steamboat Lines | ||
| Series II. Miscellaneous Views | ||
| Series III. Oversize Materials | ||
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers, byappointment only.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 30 photocopiesper day per person. Suitability of the original for photocopying is at the discretion of the staff. Neither blueprints nor tracings can be copied under any circumstances. Duplication oflarge-format items will be done by the house photographer. See Print Room guidelines fordetails.
Use Restrictions
Permissionto reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from
Rights and Reproductions
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282
Fax: (212) 579-8794
The copyright law of the United States governs themaking of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials.Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication withoutpermission of the copyright holder.
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Access Points |
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SubjectOrganizations: |
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| Albany (Steamboat) | ||
| Alexander Hamilton(Steamboat) | ||
| BenjaminB. Odell (Steamboat) | ||
| Chauncey M. Depew (Steamboat) | ||
| Dewitt Clinton (Steamboat) | ||
| Fort Orange (Steamboat) | ||
| Hendrick Hudson(Steamboat) | ||
| Homer Ramsdell (Steamboat) | ||
| Hudson River Central Line | ||
| Hudson River Day Line | ||
| Hudson River Navigation Company | ||
| Mary Powell (Steamboat) | ||
| New York (Steamboat) | ||
| Newburgh (Steamboat) | ||
| Peter Stuyvesant (Steamboat) | ||
| Robert Fulton (Steamboat) | ||
| Washington Irving (Steamboat) | ||
Subject Topics: |
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| River Steamers – Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.) | ||
| Steamboats – Hudson River (N.Y. and N.J.) | ||
Subject Places: |
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| Hudson River Valley (N.Y. and N.J.) | ||
| Hudson River(N.Y. and N.J.) | ||
Document Types: |
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| Advertisements | ||
| Albumen prints | ||
| Blueprints | ||
| Clippings | ||
| Ephemera | ||
| Photograph Albums | ||
| Photographs | ||
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of Alfred Olcott, 1949-1951.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: The Alfred Olcott Hudson River SteamboatsCollection, PR 098, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, TheNew-York Historical Society.
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