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Copper Plate engravings of the 18th and early 19th centuries

Vues d'Optique or Perspective Views:

A number of perspective prints depicted American scenes at the time of the Revolution for a European audience hungry for news of the events in the British colonies. These images are supposed to show New York, though none is based on any actual New York view, and no buildings or docks such as those shown existed anywhere the city. However, the intent of thise prints was more to present a graphic picture for the viewer's interest rather than to record an accurate historical scene. As documents of American history and European printmaking, these are unusual and appealing eighteenth-century prints.

• "La Destruction de la Statue royale a Nouvelle Yorck." [Destruction of the Royal Statue in New York.]. On July 10, 1776, word of the Declaration of Independence reached New York City. A crowd gathered to hear a reading of the document, and so inspired a group proceeded to tear down the statue of George III that stood in Bowling Green. This print allegedly shows that event. $1,400

  
  

• "Debarquement des Troupes engloises a nouvelle Yorck." [Disembarkation of the English Troops in New York.] A few spots in left margin. A print allegedly of the landing of the British troops in New York City, on September 17, 1776, shortly after the American's left. $1,400

  
  

• "L'Entre triumphale de Troupes royales a Nouvelle Yorck." [Triumphal Entry of the British Troops into New York.] This image is supposed the depict the British entering New York on September 17, 1776, in the wake of the American retreat from the city. $1,400

  
  

• "Representation du Feu terrible a Nouvelle Yorck…." [The terrible fire in New York.] Small repaired hole at left. This print purportedly shows the burning of New York as the British moved in behind the retreating Americans on September 19, 1776. A dramatic scene even if imaginary. $1,400

  
  

Prints from The Port Folio:

"View of East-River or Sound, taken from Riker's Island, with a distant view of the Seat of Joshua Washington Esqr." December 1810. 3 5/8 x 6 1/4. Engraved by Peter Maverick. Stauffer: 2240. $175

Inderwick. "The Mitchel-Light-House on Sands's Point in Long Island Sound." October 1811. 3 1/2 x 6. Engraving by Leney. $225

"Characteristic Scenery of the Hudson River." [Palissades, New York.] May 1812. 3 3/8 x 6 1/2. $150

D. Charles. "On the East River." March 1813. 3 1/2 x 5 5/8. Engraving by Leney. $175

This Society was founded in 1785 as a mutual help for workmen and their families in sickness and distress. It took the present title in 1786 and was chartered by the State of New York in 1792. The 1802 erection of the then new and present City Hall was accomplished primarily by the members of this society. In 1810 it founded the Mechanics Bank, and in 1820 the Mechanics and Tradesmen School with its library was founded. It continues to operate today as a society for mechanics and architects. The library is famous and the second oldest in New York city.

This certificate is not original but probably printed from the original plate and folded into a book or magazine. It is a lovely allegory to illustrate the functions of the society in the 1820s. A widow receives a money purse from a member while another shows an orphan the way to the school. In the background is a steamship and shipbuilding, both staples of the New York economy. A handsome eagle holds a ribbon around an oval that was probably intended for a wax seal. In four corners putti engage in manufacturing and agriculture. $350

Joshua Shaw. "Hell Gate." From Picturesque Views of American Scenery. Philadelphia: Thomas T. Ash, 1835. Second edition. 9 5/8 x 13 1/2. Aquatint with line etching by John Hill. Original hand color. Light mat burn in margins. Otherwise, very good condition.

A rare print from an interesting series of American views that combines the work of two of the most talented Americans of the early nineteenth century. Joshua Shaw (ca. 1777-1860), born and trained in England, where he exhibited at the Royal Academy emigrated to Philadelphia in 1817 with a recommendation of his work from Benjamin West. Enthralled by his new country, Shaw conceived the scheme of producing a folio of prints based on "correct delineations of some of the most prominent beauties of notable scenery." He planned to travel throughout the United States to make his drawings, and to issue the prints by subscription in six sets of six views each. This was the first systematic attempt to depict the American landscape, and it is a foundation work in the history of American color-plates. Only nineteen of the intended thirty-six prints were produced; either Shaw ran out of energy, or his public did not support the venture.

John Hill (1770-1850), another Englishman who had just settled in Philadelphia, made the aquatints. This was Hill's first major American commission; the next year he moved to New York City where he further enhanced his reputation as the premier aquatinter in the U.S. Thomas T. Ash, publisher, acquired the plates and reissued the series in 1835. Prints from either edition of this series are rare; beautifully rendered, exquisitely aquatinted and finely colored. Scenes are mostly of the eastern seaboard, from New York to Georgia, focusing on the inland waterways, which were the major routes of travel and major sources of energy at the time. $850

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