|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When imagined outside the reality of print consumers' largely urban surroundings, fires could become exotic fuel for imagination. On the prairie, for example, wild fires that licked through grasses fed popular ideas of the west as a place of great danger and drama. Famous fires of history, like the one from which John Wesley was rescued as a child, added to the mystique of well-known people and places and offered an alternative to more staid portraits and landscapes.
Prints from Barnard's New Complete and Authentic History of England. London: Edward Barnard, 1781-83. Engravings. On sheets 14 1/2 x 9. Very good condition.
A pair of historical prints from Edward Barnard's History of England. This delightful history was described on one of the prints as "A Work Universally Acknowledged to be the Best Performance of the Kind,-on account of It's Impartiality, Accuracy, New Improvements, Superior Elegance, &c." It was issued at the end of the eighteenth century in response to the growing demand for works on all subjects by a newly educated reading public in England. The history was full of prints on all aspects of English history, including these two fire prints.
The dramatic event depicted is the burning of the Masonic Hall, a gothic brick and marble structure designed by William Strickland and built to much acclaim in 1809-10. This striking edifice, located on Chestnut Street above Seventh, burned in spectacular fashion in 1819, watched by a large crowd of spectators. The print was issued by Kennedy & West just a few months after the conflagration, a very short time to bring out a print of such an event. This rousing print well captures the drama of the scene, conveying the excitement of this Philadelphia disaster from over a century and a half ago, and testifying to the ability of the artists and engraver.
The view was a collaboration of two artists, John L. Krimmel and Samuel Jones. Little information is available on the life and works of Jones. He seems to have been commissioned by the original publishers to paint the background for the scene. For the figures in the foreground, John L. Krimmel was hired. Krimmel was a native of Germany, who came to the United States in 1810, settling in Philadelphia, where he painted portraits, miniatures, and good-natured street scenes. Krimmel is particularly known for his delightful treatment of the latter, and this print is a fine example of his style. Krimmel was able to graphically capture the frenzy of activity at the scene, the details and furor of the fire illustrated with great intricacy and emotion. The print was aquatinted by John Hill, the most skilled etcher in the United States. Hill (1770-1850) was an Englishman who had just settled in Philadelphia, and he was soon to go on to other projects which would bring him great fame. $2,400
Click here for more views of Philadelphia.
"Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat LEXINGTON In Long Island Sound on Monday Eveg. Jany. 13th 1840, by which melancholy occurrence; over 100 PERSONS PERISHED." Drawn by W.K. Hewitt. New York: N. Currier, Jan. 1840. Version 2, State V. Broadside: full sheet 17 7/8 x 13 1/2; image 8 3/8 x 12 1/8. Some repaired tears and rubbing to text area. Very good condition for separately issued broadside. C:328. Ref: Brust & Shadwell, "The Many Versions and States of The Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington," Imprint, Vol. 15, No. 2.
On January 13, 1840, the passenger steamer Lexington on its way from New York to Stonington, Connecticut, burned in Long Island sound. There were only four survivors from among the 150 passengers and crew members. This spectacular catastrophe was disastrous for many, but proved a boon for a young New York lithographer named Nathaniel Currier. The news of this tragedy reached New York two days later, and the next day the New York Sun came out with a broadside about the disaster which included a lithographed image of the disaster. The sensation caused by the burning of the Lexington continued for weeks, spurred on by the repeated reissued of updated versions of this broadside. One week after the first publication, a new, more accurate lithographed image appeared on the broadside, this one attributed to artist W.K. Hewitt and lithographed by Nathaniel Currier. With its correct nighttime imagery, giving it a much more dramatic appearance, this broadside kept interest in the tragedy alive. In the days before photography and television, the combination of fast reportage and a dramatic lithographed image made this Sun Extra a big success. The popularity of the broadside inspired Nathaniel Currier to take over its publication after the Sun stopped its involvement, and he issued another three versions thereafter. This is the second version, with Currier the publisher responsible for both text and image. According to Harry T. Peters, the popularity of his Lexington lithograph is what firmly established Nathaniel Currier as a financial and popular success, and allowed him to build his firm (later Currier & Ives) into the dominant American printmaking company. $3,800
"Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington in Long Island Sound." 1840. Lithograph. 6 1/2 x 11 1/2. Close margins, but complete. Very good condition.
The "Awful Conflagration" of the Lexington in Long Island Sound on January 13th, 1840, with its large loss of life, was an event that attracted much attention in New York City and area. This spurred the production of broadsides and lithographed images of the disaster, most famously one by Nathaniel Currier (cf. above) that is supposed to have been one of the foundations of his successful career. This was not, however, the only "rush print" made of the burning of the Lexington and here is an unusual and unattributed lithograph of the same scene. The title is similar to the Currier print, but the image is quite different. It was undoubtedly issued within a short time of the event and was aimed at the market created by the public fascination with this famous disaster. $575
Click here for more views of New York City.
"Great Fire in San Francisco." From Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion. Boston, 1851. Wood engraving by Worcester & Pierce. 6 1/2 x 9 1/8. Very good condition.
A dramatic image of the Great Fire of San Francisco, May 4, 1851. This fire, which was started on May 3 in a paint and upholstery shop on Portsmouth Square, burned for 10 hours and almost destroyed the city. 18 blocks, with about 2,000 buildings, burned and the loss was estimated at 13 million dollars, with five lives lost. This view was likely based on a first-hand drawing sent to Boston, where it was published in America's first illustrated newspaper just a few weeks after the event. $65
Ferogio. "Fire in the Country." Engraved by F. E. Jones. Cincinnati: F. C. Middleton for The Ladies' Repository, 1854. Mezzotint with line engraving. 4 7/8 x 7 3/4.
In the urgent flight of the farm family, the artist conveys the great danger posed by a fire in the open prairie. For many of the rural Midwestern subscribers to The Ladies' Repository, such a fire was never far from everyday thoughts and concerns. $45
"Terrible Conflagration and Destruction of the Steam-Boat 'New-Jersey,' on the River Delaware, opposite Philadelphia, on the Night of Saturday, March 15th, 1856, between 8 and 9 o'clock, by which Dreadful Calamity Sixty-One lives were lost." Philadelphia: A. Pharazin, 1856. 7 5/8 x 12 3/4. Lithograph. Original hand color. Very good condition.
In the nineteenth century, "rush" lithographs were one of the few ways that the general public had access to visual information of events which interested them such as elections, battles and disasters. These prints were rushed out shortly after the events by publishers hoping to sell them as sensational broadsides. The images were often drawn after "on the spot" sketches, though sometimes they were made up out of whole cloth. The year 1856 was a bad one for disasters around Philadelphia, including a spectacular fire on the ferry between Philadelphia and Camden. On March 15, 1856, the ferry caught fire, and because of the ice in the river and a loss of steering, the ferry was never able to reach the shore. Sixty one lost their lives; the names of the "dead," "missing," and "saved" are listed below the image. $650
Click here for more marine prints.
The Great Fire In Chicago. January 28 1868. New York: Harper's Weekly, 15 February 1868. 9 x 9. Wood engraving. Very good condition.
Even before the fire of 1871, Chicago was prone to conflagrations. Like other cities, its concentration of people, fire-based lighting and heating, and wooden structures meant that potential for disaster was always present. The tragedy of January 1868 is here illustrated and briefly described. $75
The Illustrated London News: October-November 1871. Wood engravings. ca. 13 1/2 x 8 3/4. Hand color. Very good condition.
Click here for page with views of pre-fire Chicago.
"The Burning of Chicago." New York: Currier & Ives: 1871. Small folio. 8 1/8 x 12 5/8. Lithograph. Original hand color. Small chips in bottom margin. C:738.
A powerful image from Currier & Ives, typical of one of their most popular types of prints. $850
"Prairie Fires of the Great West." Currier & Ives, 1871. Small folio. 8 3/8 x 12 1/2. Faint, old glue stains in margins. Tears in left margin, just into image. Expertly conserved and very good appearance and color. C:4859. New Best 50: #6.
One of the most dramatic of Currier & Ives fire prints, showing a train racing across the prairie away from a fire, also driving along a herd of buffalo. $2,100
"Willard's Hotel, Washington, Saved By The New York Fire Zouaves." Harper's Weekly: New York, May 25, 1861. Wood engraving. 14 x 9. Very good condition.
A dynamic image of the fire and rescue efforts in a landmark Washington, D.C. hotel. $60
"A Forest Fire in America." London: The Illustrated London News, 28 November 1871. Wood engraving. 19 1/4 x 12 1/4.
In addition to covering the Chicago fire, The Illustrated London News noted that fire had been wreaking havoc in other parts of the United States, as well. Here, the paper illustrates one of the many forest fires that had been raging in Michigan's lumber regions, where logyards and saw-mills became tinderboxes for destructive blazes. $95
J. J. Harley. "The Boston Fire -- Washington Street, Looking South, With Ruins of the Chickering Building and Globe Theatre on the Left." New York: Harper's Weekly, June 14, 1873. Wood engraving. 14 x 9. $110
W.G. Armor. "Burning of Union Depot During the Railroad Riot July 21st and 22nd 1877. Pittsburgh, PA." Pittsburgh, ca. 1881. Chromolithograph by Otto Krebs. Engraved on stone by William G. Armor. 14 1/2 x 20 1/2. Repaired tear just into image at left and light waterstain in lower left corner. Overall, very good condition.
One of the most traumatic events in Pittsburgh's history was the great railroad strike of 1877. This was the first widespread labor uprising in the United States and a pivotal event in American labor history. The strike began in West Virginia and soon spread throughout the country, increasing in violence until the Federal government intervened and the strike was brought to an end after a month and a half. Pittsburgh was the site of some of the worst violence of the strike. On July 21st, Pennsylvania militia troops were brought in to try to control the situation but things got out of hand. A large mob gathered at the railroad yards-made up of at least as many present only to cause trouble as were actual strikers-and soon there was fighting and an exchange of gun fire between the strikers and militia. By morning the troops were put to flight and the rioters turned to burning and looting.
A local printmaker, Otto Krebs, produced this dramatic print showing the "Burning of the Union Depot During the Railroad Riot July 21st and 22nd 1877. Pittsburgh, PA." This colorful chromolithograph depicts the depot being consumed by flames, with a large, angry mob surrounding it and looking for more trouble. Demand for such a print would have been created both by those who were interested in a memorial of this significant local event and by those who had not been present and were interested to see an image of what transpired. It is likely Krebs would have found a ready market for his print among local citizens, with some copies undoubtedly making it to other parts of the country as well. An interesting note about this print is that the scene was copied, without attribution, from a wood engraving which appeared in Harper's Weekly on August 11, 1877. A list of those killed in the riot is included below the title. $1,800
Julian Rix. "A Forest Fire." New York: Harper's Weekly, August 21, 1886. 13 3/8 x 9. Wood engraving. Very good condition. $45
Go to page with other drawings by Vernon Howe Bailey.
As an integral (necessary) part of a town of any scale, they also became fodder for satire. Visual satirists, who used permutations of recognizable types to lampoon their subjects, used the archetypal fireman to make jokes, often racially oriented. In series of prints mocking African-American communities, popular print makers like Currier & Ives included a fire brigade in the images marketed as comical chromolithographs to a white, middle-class audience.
Chas. H. Spieler. "The Old Phila. Fire Department. Period of 1850." Philadelphia: C.H. Spieler, 1882. Chromolithograph by Theo. Leonhardt & Son. 22 3/4 x 29 1/4. With extensive repaired tears. Expertly conserved and very good appearance.
A rare, large folio image of "The Great Engine Contest on Sunday Evening July 7th 1850 at 5th & Market Sts." A large group of Philadelphia fire companies-including Lafayette, Southwark, Vigilent, Hope, United States Hose, and others-are competing with their hoses at the corner of 5th and Market. The members of each company are dressed with their capes and hats in their company's colors and a crowd of spectators looks on. Of interest is the depiction of the buildings at the location, including the market sheds running down the middle of Market Street. It would seem that Spieler based his lithograph on a first-hand drawing, though the print was issued over a quarter century later. A rare and dramatic Philadelphia scene. $1,400
During the nineteenth century, lithographic publishers such as Currier & Ives from New York and the Kellogg firm of Hartford, issued thousands of images in separately issued prints. The wonderful perspective on the myriad subjects which these images depict offers us a unique look through the eyes of that earlier time. $575
In fact, Archibald Robertson, who assembled and annotated the Memoir's illustrations, claimed that the print of Engine No. 13 was "the first engine that was lithographed, and that by Mr. Imbert." Two fine prints; important for both subject matter and printing method.
Displaying a finely apppointed fire engine, this lithograph actually features as its background the scene painted on the back of the engine itself. Close observation reveals that this is not a strictly accurate scene of the falls on the Mohawk River, but it mirros the image barely visible on the engine's back panel. $225
Marvelous pictoral journalism examining New York City's Metropolitan Fire Department. Published in the ubiquitous Harper's Weekly, this illustration, like others in the popular magazine, offered readers a glimpse of the news and newsmakers of the day. In an urban center like New York, prone to building fires, those who combatted the blazes were certainly worthy of such a graphic spread! Here, vignettes of Fireman's Hall, fire engines, department officers, and firemen in action illuminate the department for magazine subscribers and modern viewers. $145
Go to full listing of Currier & Ives prints.
Go to listing of other Darktown prints.
A handsome steel engraving of the Hartford Fire Insurance Co.'s building at 53 Trumbull Street in Harford. This company is the oldest insurance firm from Hartford, founded in 1810, it survived through the many disasters of the nineteenth century and still exists, though in modified form, as the Hartford Financial Services Group. This was probably issued shortly after the their new building was built. The structure was located on the northwst corner of Pearl and Trumbull, and the Pearl Street trolley is shown at left. Also documented are many dapper Hartford citizens, on foot, riding bicycles, or in carriages. $350
Place Order
For further information call, write, fax or e-mail to:
8441 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118 USA
(215) 242-4750 [Phone]
(215) 242-6977 [Fax]
PhilaPrint@PhilaPrintShop.com 
©The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd. Last updated November 6, 2009
![[fire scene with trolleys].](images/baileyfiretrolley.jpg){kind=link}
![[Fire Department Certificate] "This certifies that….is an honorary member of….Fire Department."](images/gale6489.jpg){kind=link}
