Lynn Schroeder did this etching while getting his MFA from the University of Iowa in 1960.
The "W.J. Quinlan" was a riverboat ferry that ran between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport Iowa. She was a steam-powered stern wheeler, built in 1904 by the Kahlke boat works in Rock Island, Illinois, was originally named the Davenport. In 1925, William J. Quinlan bought the boat, refurbished her, and renamed her after himself.
The Quinlan carried businessmen, shoppers, sightseers, and children between Rock Island and Davenport during the day, and offered night tours of the river—plus the use of its dance floor and casino— to couples and gamblers.
After decades of active service, never venturing more than two miles from where she was built, the Quinlan developed structural problems in her hull, and retired to the Kahlke yard in 1946.