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A superb print celebrating the first American naval victory of the War of 1812. This battle was fought on August 19, 1812. The captain of the American ship, Isaac Hull, was considered to be the most respected and most competent American naval captain at the time. The Constitution sighted the Guerriere in the open sea east of Boston. The engagement lasted only forty minutes and ended with the surrender of the English vessel. The Guerriere was so badly damaged that Hull had her blown up and sunk, and the surviving English sailors were taken to Boston. This battle was important because it was the first American naval victory of the war. Up until then the war had not gone well for the United States, and when the news of this victory reached the American people; it was greeted with much celebration. $3,200
Thomas Birch. "This Representation of the U.S. Frigate United States, Stephen Decatur Esqr. Commander, Capturing His Britannic Majesty's Frigate Macedonian..." Most likely printed in Philadelphia, 1815+. 25 3/4 x 18. Line engraving by S. Seymour. Second State. Several tears into image and margins, all expertly repaired. Otherwise, good condition and appearance. Olds:163
A superb print celebrating one of the most famous naval achievements of the War of 1812. The United States engaged the Macedonian and captured it near the Canary Islands. In a bold move, Capt. Stephen Decatur brought the ship back to New York, the first British man-of-war as prize into an American port. It was this episode, in particular, that raised the national pride and confidence in the Navy and eventually lead Congress to allocate further shipbuilding for the war and future events. The print by Birch is evocative of this national pride in the event-- dramatic and powerful-- and is one of Birch's best known marine paintings. $3,000
Pair of prints by Sully and Kearny. "Battle on Lake Erie." Philadelphia: Murray Draper Fairman & Co. and James Webster, July 1815. Engravings. Ca. 18 x 25 3/4. With some condition issues but overall good condition. First view: with small flecks or blemishes in sky. Second view: repaired tear in bottom margin just into image, a few small flecks or blemishes in the sky, and with several faint tear dropped shaped water stains extending from the top margin into the image. Prints have been professionally conserved. Good margins. Olds: 241 & 242; Smith: 124 & 125.
A very rare pair of engravings of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813. These prints were issued within two years of the battle, dedicated by the co-publisher, James Webster, to "Commodore Perry his Officers and gallant Crews." These separately issued prints were intended for purchase and framing by the crew members, their families, and any interested in this stirring American victory in the War of 1812. The pair show different stages in the battle and the depictions are precise and accurate. Indeed, Perry wrote the publishers that "I have no hesitation in pronouncing them a correct representation of the engagement at those particular moments." $6,200
"View of the action between the U.S. Frigate Constitution and the British Ships Levant & Cyane." From The Analectic Magazine, vol. 7, 1816. Philadelphia. Aquatint by William Strickland. 3 7/8 x 7 3/8. Very good condition.
In 1812, Philadelphia bookseller and publisher Moses Thomas purchased a monthly magazine entitled Select Reviews, engaged Washington Irving as editor, and renamed the publication The Analectic Magazine. Irving, his brother-in-law J. K. Paulding, Gulian C. Verplanck and, later, Thomas Isaac Wharton wrote much of the material, which concentrated on literary reviews, articles on travel and science, biographies of naval heroes, and reprints of selections from British periodicals. Illustration "was one of the magazine's chief distinctions. Not only were there the usual engravings on copper, but some of the earliest magazine experiments in lithography and wood engraving appeared here." This is a lovely aquatint by Strickland of the battle between the Consitution and the Levant and Cyane. $250
Prints from an unknown German series circa 1815. Titles in German and English. Wood engravings. Each approximately 3 1/4 x 5 1/2.
A detailed print of a naval engagement between the Wasp and the Frolic during the War of 1812. This battle occurred on October 18, 1812. The American ship Wasp encountered the English ship Frolic escorting a convoy of merchant ships. From the opening shot the English ship was winning the battle until the Frolic hooked her bowsprit into the rigging of the Wasp. This allowed the Wasp to fire broadside after broadside into the Frolic while the English ship was unable to return any substantial fire. An American boarding party commanded by James Biddle had little opposition in taking the ship due to the ferocity of the Wasp's cannon fire. A crew was assembled to pilot the Frolic to Boston, but both ships were surprised by the arrival of the British seventy four gun warship H.M.S. Poictiers. Neither ship, nor the Americans, were in any condition to fight, and both ships were taken without opposition. $1,400
Chapin. "Action Between the Constitution and the Guerriere." New York: Virtue Emmins & Co., 1859. Engraving. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2. Very good condition.
A more primitive rendering of this battle with the French ship mast-less and the triumphant Constitution in the background. $60
Alonzo Chapell. "Battle Between the Constitution and the Guerriere." New York: Johnson & Fry & Co., 1866. 7 3/4 x 5 1/2. Steel engraving. Very good condition.
An interesting perspective of this battle just after the end of the fighting. The Constitution is seen head on with the demasted Guerriere in the background. Alonzo Chappel was a historical painter and illustrator. Born in New York in 1828 he studied at the National Academy and exhibited at the American Institute before he was seventeen. He lived his whole life in the New York City vicinity before his death in 1887. He is mainly known as an illustrator of historical books; the majority of these concerning the American Revolution and the Civil War. Some of his paintings and prints can be found at the New York and Chicago Historical Societies. This print is a good example of Chappel's work. $75
J. Chapin. "The Battle of New Orleans, Fought January 8, 1815." From Harper's Weekly. New York: January 12, 1861. 9 x 13 7/8. Wood engraving. With minor blemishes, but overall very good condition. Denver.
Harper's Weekly provided most of the printed images available to the American people in the middle of the nineteenth century. This dynamic wood engraving of the Battle of New Orleans was issued at a time when the United States was facing the threat of Southern secession, and its message was that many Americans--including those from the South--had fought hard to preserve the Union. $25
William Bainbridge (1774-1833) served in the American merchant marine in his early career, and entered the U.S. Navy in 1798 anticipating the quasi-war with France. He became famous in 1803 when his ship the frigate Philadelphia ran aground in Tripoli Harbour, and he and his crew were held captive for almost two years. He returned to merchant service, then returned to the Navy with the outbreak of the War of 1812. Under Isaac Hull's command he captured the British frigate Guerriere and soon thereafter sank the frigate Java, both when captain of the U.S.S. Constitution. He was rightly included in John Wesley Jarvis' 1813 series depicting portraits of American heroes in the War of 1812 for the New York City Hall. $600
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