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William Birch's
Views of Philadelphia

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William Russell Birch. From The City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania North America. Philadelphia, 1798-1860. All ca. 11 x 13 3/8, except as noted. Engravings. Except as noted, all with full original color, some margins beyond platemark, and in very good condition.

When issued in 1800, William Birch's prints of Philadelphia collectively formed the first series of views of any American city, and as such they are of great historical importance. The superior quality of the work is evidenced in the scope of its conception, the artistic excellence of the prints and their fine execution. The prints provide a unique visual record of Philadelphia at a time when it was the most important and cosmopolitan city in the Western Hemisphere, and for a time was the capital of the newly formed United States. Each print illustrates a scene, focusing on the sophistication of the inhabitants and the stateliness of the homes and public buildings.

The project of producing this series was carried out entirely in Philadelphia, and while many other individuals were involved, including Birch's son Thomas who provided many of the original drawings, the prints were the work of William Birch himself. He not only conceived and planned the project, but he also drew many of the scenes and did much of the engraving and publishing.

FIRST EDITION [1800].

"High Street Market." $2,600
"High Street Market." [Light mat-burn. Margins trimmed just beyond platemark]. $2,400
"High Street Market." [Light mat-burn. Margins trimmed to platemark]. $2,400
"High Street, with the First Presbyterian Church." [Margin top and sides trimmed to platemark; faint mat burn right and left sides.] $2,800
"High Street, with the First Presbyterian Church." [Margins trimmed beyond platemark; repaired tears just into image at left and bottom.] $1,800
"High Street, from Ninth Street." (With First City Troopers on horseback). [Repaired tear in lower margin. Printers wrinkle in image]. $2,600
"View in Third Street, From Spruce Street, Philadelphia." [Margins trimmed to plate mark and left corner chipped.] $2,400
"View in Third Street, from Spruce Street, Philadelphia." Faint hand color. [Two repaired tears in margins and some minor staining in margins and image.] $1,600
"An Unfinished House in Chestnut Street." [Faint matburn inside platemark]. $2,600
"State House with a View of Chesnut Street Philadelphia." Framed. $3,200
"Library and Surgeons Hall, in Fifth Street Philadelphia." [Repaired tears in lower margin, just into platemark below title.] $3,200
"Goal [sic] in Walnut Street." [Light mat burn in margins; repaired tear in right margin]. $2,200
"Alms House in Spruce Street." [Repaired tear into image and light mat burn in margins.] $2,200
"The Water Works in Centre Square." [Margins trimmed to plate mark and diagonal tear in upper right hand portion of image. Expertly repaired.] $1,800
"Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia." $2,600
"Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia." Margins trimmed to plate marks. Paper time-toned. $1,500
“Arch Street, with the Second Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.” In gold frame with old black enameled glass mat. $2,600
“Old Lutheran Church, in Fifth Street Philadelphia.” In gold frame with old black enameled glass mat. $2,400

SECOND EDITION [1804]:

"High Street Market, Philadelphia." [2nd state]. $2,600
"High Street Market, Philadelphia." New color. [Mounted onto larger sheet]. $1,800
“High Street, from Ninth Street. Philadelphia." $2,800
"State House Garden. Philadelphia." [2nd state.] Uncolored. $950
"Jail in Walnut Street Philadelphia." [1st and only appearance in this edition.] $1,800
“New Lutheran Church, in Fourth Street Philadelphia." [Horizontal stain along upper edge of margin, outside plate mark.] $2,800
“New Lutheran Church, in Fourth Street Philadelphia." Uncolored. [Margins trimmed to plate marks and very faint mat burn.] $2,200
"Library and Surgeons Hall, in Fifth Street Philadelphia." Uncolored. [Margins trimmed to plate marks and very faint mat burn.] $2,400
"Old State House, Congress Hall and Town Hall, Chestnut Street Philadelphia." Uncolored. [1st and only appearance in any edition. Margins trimmed to plate marks and very faint mat burn.] $3,200
"Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia." Second (1804) or Third Edition, 1809. $2,600
“Schuylkill Bridge High Street Philadelphia." Second (1804) or Third Edition (1809). [Small portion of bottom margin just into plate replaced. Some chipping in margins but not affecting image.] $2,800

THIRD EDITION [1809]:

"The Water Works, in Centre Square Philadelphia. Drawn Engraved & Published by W. Birch near Neshaminy Bridge." [1809-1827]. Unrecorded state. Either late third or early fourth edition or issued between the third and fourth editions. Hand color. Framed.
Long established scholarly research indicates that Birch did not add the William Rush fountain to the print until the fourth edition in 1827, along with an addition to the title stating that the building had been "Taken down in 1827." Curiously, this addition to the title is lacking in this print, even though the fountain is shown. $3,400
“The Theatre in Chestnut-street Philadelphia.” In gold frame with old black enameled glass mat. $1,400

FOURTH EDITION [1827-28]:

"Philadelphia Bank in Fourth Street Philadelphia." Framed. $1,200
"Philadelphia Bank in Fourth Street Philadelphia." Later coloring. $700
"High Street, with the First Presbyterian Church. Taken down 1820. Philadelphia." Full color. $750
“Penn’s Tree with the City & Port of Philadelphia, on the River Delaware from Kensington. Decayed & blow’d down in 1810." [Second State.] In gold frame with old black enameled glass mat. $1,850
"Penn's Tree with the City & Port of Philadelphia, on the River Delaware from Kensington. Decayed & blow'd down in 1810." [Second state. Faint mat burn in margins.] Framed. $1,600
"Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia." New color. $850
"Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia." Hand colored. [Margins trimmed outside platemarks]. $650
"Girard's Bank, late the Bank of the United States, in Third Street Philadelphia." Modern hand color. $1,400
"The New Theatre in Chesnut Street Philadelphia." [New to this edition.] $1,200
"The New Theatre in Chesnut Street Philadelphia." Uncolored. $600
"The late Theatre in Chesnut Street Philadelphia. Destroy'd by Fire in 1820." [Trimmed to plate marks.] $850
"The late Theatre in Chesnut Street Philadelphia." Early variant prior to the addition of "Destroy'd by Fire in 1820." [Margins trimmed to plate marks.] $850

RESTRIKES BY JOHN McALLISTER JR. ca. 1860:

"Back of the State House, Philadelphia." Full color. $850
"Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia." [Cancelled plate.] $125
"Masonic Hall in Chestnut Street. Built 1810. Burnt 1818." 7 1/4 x 5 1/2. $150
"Masonic Hall in Chestnut Street. Built 1810. Burnt 1818." Uncolored. $95
"The New Theatre in Chestnut Street Philadelphia." $150

Other Views by Birch, not part of City of Philadelphia

William Birch. "Schuylkill Bridge High Street Philadelphia." [Inset titled: The Bridge as it will appear when covered.] 10 x 13 5/8. Engraving by Samuel Seymour. Uncolored. Framed. $2200

William Birch. "Solitude in Pennsylva. Belonging to Mr. Penn." From The Country Seats of the United States. Springland near Bristol: William Birch, 1809-[27?]. Wove paper. 4 x 5 3/4. Etching by W. Birch. Full hand color. A fine early impression. Some old spotting and light mat burn. Overall, very good condition. Snyder, "William Birch: His "Country Seats of the United States." PMH&B (July, 1957): 250.

An elegant image from William Birch's series of twenty prints illustrating the stately country seats that were beginning to be a part of life in America in the early nineteenth century. Birch's project was national in scope, but most of the sites illustrated were in the Philadelphia area located on the wooded banks of the Schuylkill River. As Birch's prints of Philadelphia were the first to encompass all of the city, his prints of country seats were the first to illustrate this development along the river. This print shows Solitude, the home of John Penn, which is now located on the grounds of the Philadelphia Zoo. John Penn was the grandson of William, the founder. He built the house in 1784 when he came to Philadelphia to regain some of the family holdings following the revolution. He had little success and left in 1788. The house and grounds passed to his nephew who visited it in 1852, and the parcel reverted to the city in 1867. Birch celebrated this fine estate because of its British aesthetics and its connection with the founding family of Pennsylvania. $650

Birch's Views of Philadelphia. Two Hundredth Anniversary Edition.
S. Robert Teitelman. Philadelphia, 2000. Cloth.

A reduced facsimile of William Russell Birch's The City of Philadelphia…as it appeared in the Year 1800. The twenty-seven engravings are reproduced in full color, with accompanying photographs of the sites as they appeared in 1960 and in 2000. $45.00

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