No. 88. Wingdams below Winona, Minnesota

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, America pushed westward and commerce boomed along its mighty rivers, the Mississippi became a focal point for engineering ingenuity. Henry P. Bosse's *No. 88. Wingdams belowona, Minnesota* (1889), a crisp cyanotype print, captures one such innovation: wingdams—temporary wooden barriers extending from the riverbanks to narrow the channel, accelerate water flow, and scour silt from the bed. Commissioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where Bosse served as a photographer and draftsman, this image documents the laborious efforts to make the Upper Mississippi navigab...