If something declines significantly in importance, it is said to have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. In this 1877 wood engraving, an unknown artist literally pokes fun at how Niagara Falls, revered as “the sublime” by 19th century Romantic landscape painters, had become a sensationalized “tourist trap.” Platforms, stairways and other structures were built at various points of interest, as shown in this engraving, to bring visitors closer to the dangerous waters, and the contemplative and spiritual elements of the “sublime” were now shared with its more terrifying aspects and marketed to tourists. In this image, tourists pose for their souvenir photograph.