This dramatic engraving of the Spartan in the rapids was used in a number of different contexts. Here it was subtly placed to supply a stereographic effect.
The illustrated newspapers of the mid-nineteenth century thrived on engravings, some of them based on photographs, others, like this one, from eye witness accounts and the artist's imagination.
John Ross Roberston's Landmarks of Toronto features dozens of woodcut engravings of vessels which served Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River, as well as featuring the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.