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An unusual and scarce steel engraving from The Ladies' Repository. This mid-nineteenth century periodical was produced in Cincinnati by members of the Methodist Church. It was a magazine "Devoted To Literature and Religion," containing articles, poetry, fiction, and notes of interest to its readers. One of its most interesting aspects was the inclusion of steel engravings. Many had a religious or "genre" theme, but others were topographical views of different parts of the United States. This magazine had a limited circulation and so these prints are quite a bit more scarce than most steel engravings of the period. Some of the views are based on images by W.H. Bartlett, but others are taken either from some of the large folio views of the period or are drawn first hand for The Ladies' Repository. Whatever their source, these are among the most interesting and hard-to-find American views of the middle of last century. $165
Prints from Henry Howard Brownell's The New World: Embracing American History. New York: G. & F. Bill, 1857. Ca. 4 x 6 1/2. Wood engravings. Original hand color. Some light stains in margins. Else, very good condition.
A pair of interesting scenes from California about a decade after the beginning of the gold rush. Brownell claimed that his work containted "numerous beautiful illustrations, drawn and coloured after nature," and these are nice examples.
A wonderful picturesque view of San Francisco Bay in the morning. In the middle of the picture, Hildebrandt pictures Yurba Buena island, a natural outcropping located mid bay. This island today is the connection point for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. In the background is the East Bay, where the present city of Oakland is located. The viewer is looking across today from about where the Bridge connects to the San Francisco peninsula. Hildebrandt, was born in Gdansk, and made numerous journeys to the Western Hemisphere, Mediterranean, Middle East, India, China, Japan and crossing the Pacific. A very colorful and well executed series of chromolithographs of his journeys were produced most likely in the late 1860s. These chromolithographs were reproduced with great effect to emulate his original watercolor drawings. A serene view from this very rare series. $1,200
A fine view of the coast of California, by America's printmakers. $950
Thomas Hill. “Yosemite Valley.” From William Pate’s National Gallery of Landscape Painters-American Scenery. New York: G.P. Putnam’s & Sons, 1872. 7 3/4 x 13 1/2. Steel engraving by Robert Hinshelwood. Excellent condition.
The process of steel engraving first made its impact with the small, octavo topographical engravings that appeared in such works as Willis’ American Scenery and Hinton’s History and Topography, both issued in the first half of the nineteenth century. In the second half of the century, some publishers used this medium to produce more elaborate topographical prints, and amongst the best series of this sort was William Pate’s American Scenery. This large portfolio contained folio steel engravings after the paintings of a number of famous American landscape artists. This lovely image of Yosemite Valley is based on a painting by Thomas Hill. $450
"The New City Hall, San Francisco, California." From Harper's Weekly. New York, March 30, 1872. 7 x 9. Wood engraving. Very good condition.
A bird's eye view of the newly built city hall. $45
"Bird's-Eye View of San Francisco." From James D. McCabe's The Pictorial History of the United States. Philadelphia, 1877. Wood engraving. 4 1/4 x 6 1/2. Very good condition.
A surprisingly detailed wood engraving of San Francisco from the bay. Shows the bustling sea port with its many wharfs filled with ships. $45
Prints after Rudolf Cronau. From Von Wunderland zu Wunderland. Landschafts und Lebensbilder aus den Staaten und Territorien der Union. Leipzig: T.O. Weigel, 1886-87. Collotypes by Rommler & Jonas, Dresden. Prints mounted onto decorative title boards as issued. Some margins stains & chipping to title boards, but overall very good condition.
A very unusual and rare set of German prints of the United States. The series consisted of fifty views extending from New York to San Francisco, with the majority of the prints depicting the natural wonders of the American West. Europeans, especially Germans, were fascinated with the American West due to the differences in culture and physical topography, not to mention their significant financial investments in land. Also, the western regions of the United States were becoming more accessible and many Europeans were curious about the tales of the American frontier. There is little information available on the artist of this series, Rudolf Cronau (1855-1939). Born in Germany, he is known to have traveled to the United States and North Africa. Overall, this is a very ambitious and rare set of views of the United States in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
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![[Country house in Southern California.]](images/crohse.jpg){kind=link}
![[Chinese Tea Room, San Francisco.]](images/crotea.jpg){kind=link}
![[From the old Spanish Period: Motif from a Mission in Southern California.]](images/cromiss.jpg){kind=link}