Ferryman Collection

Ferry Crossing on the River Wansbeck at North Seaton, Ashington, Northumberland, 11th February 1930. Pictured, Ferryman Robert Wheatley, who has been working the crossing for 55 years

Charon / Styx / Dante / Virgil
Charon ferries Dante and Virgil across the Styx, the river which separates this world of ours from the infernal regions

Dante / Virgil Cross Styx
Charon, the ferryman of the Styx, carries Dante and Virgil to the Underworld

The Harwich-Zeebrugge Train Ferry, c1930. Creator: Unknown
The Harwich-Zeebrugge Train Ferry, c1930. From " The Wonder Book of Ships", edited by Harry Golding. [Ward, Lock & Co. Limited, London and Melbourne, ]

DANTE: INFERNO. Charon, ferryman of the river Styx. Wood engraving, 1861, after Gustave Dore

Duke and Duchess of York visit Eel Pie Island - hotel ferry
Duke and Duchess of York visit Eel Pie Island on the River Thames during the annual regatta - taking the Island Hotel ferry punt

Istanbul, Turkey - Galata Ferryboats - Golden Horn
Ferryboats and boatmen moored close to the Bridge and Quay at Galata, Constantinople, Turkey, ready to provide transport across the Golden Horn. Date: circa 1920s

Thames Waterman
A waterman is about to row two women across the Thames, despite the proximity of London Bridge. Traffic is sufficient to keep 20, 000 watermen employed. Date: circa 1810

Thames Ferryman 1680
A Thames waterman takes a full load of passengers from one side of the river to the other

A young man hands a pretty young woman into a wherry which a young waterman
1000956 A young man hands a pretty young woman into a wherry which a young waterman, who is apparently standing in the water on the further side of the boat, holds against the landing-place

Freight transport in Paris, c.1810 (engraving)
2163956 Freight transport in Paris, c.1810 (engraving) by Pugin, Augustus Charles (1762-1832) (after); (add.info.: Geography. France. Paris. Goods carrying on the Seine)

Hades, showing Charon the ferryman, Cerberus, three-headed dog guarding entrance
536432 Hades, showing Charon the ferryman, Cerberus, three-headed dog guarding entrance, Pluto and Proserpine/Persephone (center left) and River Lethe

Charon the ferryman rowing to collect Dante and his guide, Virgil, to carry them across the Styx, 1861 (engraving)
536563 Charon the ferryman rowing to collect Dante and his guide, Virgil, to carry them across the Styx, 1861 (engraving); (add.info.: Charon the ferryman rowing to collect Dante and his guide)

View at dusk, Hashiba Ferry, Tokyo, c1880. Creator: Kobayashi Kiyochika
View at dusk, Hashiba Ferry, Tokyo, c1880

Shogo Ferry Landing--An Authentic View, 1884. Creator: Kobayashi Kiyochika
Shogo Ferry Landing--An Authentic View, 1884

Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine, 1858. Creator: Ando Hiroshige
Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine, 1858. Part of the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, no. 072, part 2: Summer

Ferry Crossing the Tenryu River, Mitsuke, c1841-42. Creator: Ando Hiroshige
Ferry Crossing the Tenryu River, Mitsuke, c1841-42. From Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido, also known as the "Gyosho Tokaido"

The Ferry at Yoroi, 1862. Creator: Utagawa Hiroshige II
The Ferry at Yoroi, 1862. From Thirty-six Famous Views of the Eastern Capital

Elaine, 1897. Creator: Henry Wolf
Elaine, 1897

Hercules Gets Cerberus from the Underworld (Charon, the Ferryman of the Styx), 1645-1650. Creator: Jacob van Campen
Hercules Gets Cerberus from the Underworld (Charon, the Ferryman of the Styx), 1645-1650

River view with ferry, 1655. Creator: Herman Saftleven the Younger
River view with ferry, 1655

Moonlit Harbor Scene with Ferry, 1753/54. Creator: Adriaen Manglard
Moonlit Harbor Scene with Ferry, 1753/54

River View, 1650. Creator: Joost Cornelisz Droochsloot
River View, 1650

Thetis Immersing her Infant Son Achilles in the River Styx to Make him Invulnerable, 1794-1798

'None so Deaf as those who won't Hear'; after E. Blair Leighton, 1890. Creator: Unknown
'None so Deaf as those who won't Hear'; after E. Blair Leighton, 1890. From "The Graphic. An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper", Volume 41. January to June, 1890

Italian landscape at the tomb, c1818. Creator: Theodore Gericault
Italian landscape at the tomb, c1818

Arai: View of Ferryboats (Arai, watashibune no zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations... c
Arai: View of Ferryboats (Arai, watashibune no zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi), " also known as the Hoeido Tokaido, c. 1833/34

The Actor Ichikawa Danzo III as the Boathouse Man Kurofune Chuemon in the Play... c. 1771. Creator: Shunsho
The Actor Ichikawa Danzo III III as the Boathouse Man Kurofune Chuemon in the Play Sakai-cho Soga Nendaiki, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the First Month, 1771, Japan, c. 1771

The Actor Ichikawa Danzo III as the Boathouse Man Kurofune Chuemon in the Play... c. 1771. Creator: Shunsho
The Actor Ichikawa Danzo III III as the Boathouse Man Kurofune Chuemon in the Play Sakai-cho Soga Nendaiki, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the First Month, 1771, Japan, c. 1771

Mitsuke: View of the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa zu), from the series "Fifty... c. 1833/34
Mitsuke: View of the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi), " also known as the Hoeido Tokaido, c

Arai: View of Ferryboats (Arai, watashibune no zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations... c
Arai: View of Ferryboats (Arai, watashibune no zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi), " also known as the Hoeido Tokaido, c. 1833/34

Fuji from Ommayagashi with Twilight over Ryogoku Bridge (Ommayagashi yori ryogokubas... c. 1830/33. Creator: Hokusai)
Fuji from Ommayagashi with Twilight over Ryogoku Bridge (Ommayagashi yori ryogokubashi sekiyo o miru), from the series "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)", Japan, c

Pages from the illustrated book "Panoramic Views along the Banks of the Sumida...1801, 1804, or 806
Pages from the illustrated book "Panoramic Views along the Banks of the Sumida River (Ehon Sumidagawa ryogan ichiran)", Japan, 1801, 1804, or 1806

Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine (Haneda no watashi Benten no yashiro), from the series... 1858. Creator: Ando Hiroshige
Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine (Haneda no watashi Benten no yashiro), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)", 1858

Mitsuke, from the series "Fifty-three Stations [of the Tokaido] (Gojusan tsugi), " also... 1852
Mitsuke, from the series "Fifty-three Stations [of the Tokaido] (Gojusan tsugi), " also known as the Figure Tokaido (Jinbutsu Tokaido), 1852

Nagato Province: Shimonoseki (Nagato, Shimonoseki), from the series "Famous Places... 1856
Nagato Province: Shimonoseki (Nagato, Shimonoseki), from the series "Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces (Rokujuyoshu meisho zue)", 1856

Yoroi Ferry, Koami-cho (Yoroi no watashi Koami-cho), from the series “One Hundred... 1857. Creator: Ando Hiroshige
Yoroi Ferry, Koami-cho (Yoroi no watashi Koami-cho), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)", 1857

Mitsuke: View of the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa zu), from the series "Fifty... c. 1833/34
Mitsuke: View of the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa zu), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi), " also known as the Hoeido Tokaido, c

Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine (Haneda no watashi Benten no yashiro), from the series... 1858. Creator: Ando Hiroshige
Haneda Ferry and Benten Shrine (Haneda no watashi Benten no yashiro), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)", 1858

The Sumida River in Winter (Fuyu, Sumidagawa), from the series "Views of the Four... early 1840s
The Sumida River in Winter (Fuyu, Sumidagawa), from the series "Views of the Four Seasons in Famous Places (Meisho shiki no nagame)", early 1840s

Yoroi Ferry, Koami-cho (Yoroi no watashi Koami-cho), from the series “One Hundred... 1857. Creator: Ando Hiroshige
Yoroi Ferry, Koami-cho (Yoroi no watashi Koami-cho), from the series "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)", 1857

Kawasaki: Ferry Boats at Rokugo (Kawasaki, Rokugo no watashibune), from the series... c. 1841/44
Kawasaki: Ferry Boats at Rokugo (Kawasaki, Rokugo no watashibune), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi no uchi), " also known as the Gyosho Tokaido

Charon transports the souls of the dead to the kingdom of Hades, 2nd half of 19th century. Creator: Mikhail Znamensky
Charon transports the souls of the dead to the kingdom of Hades, 2nd half of 19th century. From a collection of 239 drawings

Le Passeur DEau
This etching shows a muscular, hulking ferryman rowing his boat through some thrashing waves in the ocean, travelling towards the blazing sun in the distance. Date: circa 1921

4th Century Bc Acheron Aeneid Allegoric Allegorical
4th, century, bc, acheron, aeneid, allegoric, allegorical, allegory, ancient, age, art, boat, boatman, boundary, campania, charon, cross, dead, death, deceased, ferry, ferryman, gravestone, greek

The Actor Bando Hikosaburo II as Fujitaro, disguised as the ferryman Tomokichi, in the pla... 1767
The Actor Bando Hikosaburo II as Fujitaro, disguised as the ferryman Tomokichi, in the play " Shomei Mugen no Kane, " performed at the Nakamura Theater in the ninth month, 1767, Japan, 1767

Second Month: Matsuchi Hill in Snow at Dusk (Kisaragi, Matsuchiyama yuki no tasogare), fro... 1896
Second Month: Matsuchi Hill in Snow at Dusk (Kisaragi, Matsuchiyama yuki no tasogare), from the series " True Views of Famous Places in Tokyo (Tokyo meisho shinkei no uchi)", Japan, 1896

Yaguchi Ferry Crossing (Yaguchi no watashiba), section of a sheet from the series "A... 1854
Yaguchi Ferry Crossing (Yaguchi no watashiba), section of a sheet from the series " A Harimaze Mirror of Joruri Plays (Harimaze joruri kagami)", 1854

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The ferryman, known as Charon, holds a significant role in various mythologies and literary works. In Greek mythology, he is the one who ferries souls across the river Styx to the underworld. This image of Charon has been immortalized in Gustave Dore's wood engraving from 1861, depicting him as a haunting figure guiding lost souls. In Dante's Inferno, Charon appears as a character when Dante and his guide Virgil cross the river Styx on their journey through Hell. The Duke and Duchess of York even visited Eel Pie Island in London, where they experienced crossing by hotel ferry - an experience far less ominous than that faced by Dante. Meanwhile, Istanbul showcases its own version of ferry transportation with Galata Ferryboats sailing along the Golden Horn. These boats serve as a vital means of transport for locals and tourists alike. Closer to home, Thames Watermen have long served as trusted ferry operators on the River Thames since at least 1680. Their expertise ensures safe passage for passengers traveling between various points along this iconic waterway. Another notable location is Pulls Ferry in Norwich, Norfolk, England. This historic site stands witness to centuries of ferrying people across rivers and connecting communities. Le Passeur DEau or "the waterman" symbolizes not only physical transportation but also metaphorical journeys within oneself. Just like Acheron in ancient Greece or allegorical representations found throughout history such as those seen in Aeneid or Divine Comedy - particularly during Dante's eighth canto of Hell where he crosses with Virgil - these figures represent deeper meanings beyond mere navigation. Whether it be mythical realms or real-life destinations like Istanbul or London's River Thames, the figure of the ferryman persists throughout time and cultures; forever linked to our human desire for exploration and transcendence across both physical and spiritual boundaries.