PPS Logo

NEW YORK CITY
Engraved Views

[ Copper Plate Engravings | Steel Plate Engravings ]

[ New York City Exhibition Home Page | Philadelphia Print Shop Home Page ]

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

Vues d'Optique or Perspective Views:

Perspective views, or "vues d'optique," are a special type of popular print published in Europe during the 18th century. These prints provided a form of entertainment when viewed through a device called an "optical machine" or an "optique." The most characteristic feature of the perspective views is their emphasized linear perspective, done to further intensify the enhanced appearance of depth and illusionistic space in the prints when viewed through an optique. When displayed in the optique, the prints might transport the viewer into a far away place---an unknown city, or perhaps into the midst of a dramatic bit of contemporary history. Another attribute of these prints is their bright, often crude hand coloring, applied boldly so as to show the tints when viewed through the lens.

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.

Francois Xavier Habermann. "Debarquement Des Troupes Engloises A Nouvelle Yorck." [Disembarkation of the English Troops in New York.] Title also in German and supertitle printed in reverse. Augsburg, ca. 1776. 9 5/8 x 15 5/8. Etched by Habermann. Original hand color. Very good condition. Cresswell: 266. $1,250

"L'Entre Triumphale de Troupes Royales a Nouvelle Yorck." [Triumphal Entry of the British Troops into New York.] Ca. 1776. 11 x 15 7/8. Original hand color. Very good condition. Cf. Cresswell: 267. $1,250

Francois Xavier Habermann. "Representation Du Feu Terrible A Nouvelle Yorck." [The terrible fire in New York.] Title printed in reverse at top. Augsburg, ca. 1776. 9 1/2 x 15 1/2. Etching. Original hand color. Narrow margins. Old creases down center. Overall, very good condition. Cresswell: 268. $1,250

Francois Xavier Habermann. "La Destruction de la Statue royale a Nouvelle Yorck." [Destruction of the Royal Statue in New York.]. Title also in German. Augsburg, ca. 1776. 9 1/2 x 15 5/8. Etching. Original hand color. Some chipping, short tears and minor stains in wide margins. Otherwise, very good condition. Cresswell: 263. $1,250

Prints from The Port Folio:

A series of early American engravings from The Port Folio. This was a new type of American magazine, "Devoted to Useful Science, the Liberal Arts, Legitimate Criticism, and Polite Literature." It was a product of the new century, appearing first in January 1801. It began as a weekly issue until 1809, when it became monthly until its demise at the end of 1827. As with the many magazines that followed it, the fine views from The Port Folio are some of the most unusual and early American-made views of the country, and they form an important series of documents from the first three decades of the nineteenth century.

"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

Charles Canda. Certificate of membership in "General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen." N.Y., ca. 1820s, but printed in the 1850s. Engraving by B. Tanner. 16 3/4 x 21 1/4 (neatlines) with complete margins. Excellent except for two vertical folds, probably as issued.

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

Place Order

Go to page with steel engravings of New York City

Return to New York City Exhibition main page

Return to Views main page

Spacer Spacer Spacer Spacer

For more information call, write, fax or e-mail to:

PPS Logo
8441 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118 USA
(215) 242-4750 [Phone]
(215) 242-6977 [Fax]
PhilaPrint@PhilaPrintShop.com

NEW YORK CITYEngraved Views

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

Vues d'Optique or Perspective Views:

Prints from The Port Folio:

NEW YORK CITY
Engraved Views