New York Views

Home , Currier and Ives, New York City Hall, New York Crystal Palace, William Guy Wall

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New York City Hall

1. Bachmann, John: NEW YORK CITY HALL, PARK AND ENVIRONS. New York. [ca. 1849]. Tinted lithograph with additional hand-coloring, 13½ x 18¼ inches. Mild foxing. Very good. Matted and framed.

An attractive view of Broadway, New York City by famed artist John Bachmann who was, at the time, only at the beginning of a brilliant printmaking career. According to Reps, Bachmann executed two views of New York City in 1849, though Reps does not record this one. Here, Bachmann portrays Broadway in a clean and very inviting manner. “Along the broad thoroughfare moves a smart array of carriages, coaches, and fashionably-dressed pedestrians. The fountain playing in the imperfect triangle of City Hall Park had now permanently replaced the temporary one erected there during the Croton Water Celebration that took place there in 1842. Beyond the fountain is City Hall itself, admired by residents and visitors alike for its architectural splendor: a successful adaptation of French Renaissance and American colonial influences” – Deák.

Bachmann’s reputation as a fine artist, lithographer, and printer is assured through his work, even if only considering his New York City views. Little is known of the man himself, though he is believed to have emigrated from Germany in the 1840s, bringing with him a fully-developed style and competence unusual for the period. “No finer artist of city views worked in America than John Bachmann” – Reps.

A fantastic and rare view of New York’s famed City Hall, an important depiction of lower Manhattan and Broadway in the middle of the 19th century. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 596. STOKES, ICONOGRAPHY OF MANHATTAN ISLAND III, p.902. STOKES & HASKELL, AMERICAN HISTORICAL PRINTS, ca. 1849-E-117, p.105. REPS, VIEWS & VIEWMAKERS, pp.160-61. $2000. Where New York Public Now Stands

2. Bachmann, John: BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE NEW YORK CRYSTAL PALACE AND ENVIRONS. New York. 1853. Large color lithograph, approximately 23 x 31 inches. Matted and framed. Very good.

Large bird’s-eye view of the New York Crystal Palace from the north with downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn in the background. Printed in color by Bachmann. Reps appraised Bachmann in the following glowing terms: “No finer artist of city views worked in America than John Bachmann.”

The New York Crystal Palace imitated the more famous Crystal Palace built in Hyde Park in London as an exhibition hall, matching its revolutionary iron and glass construction and serving a similar purpose as an exhibition hall. Opened in 1853, the year this view was made, in burned down in 1858. It sat on the present site of Bryant Park, immediately to the west of the New York Public Library, and over some of the NYPL stacks. Immediately to the east was the Egyptian Revival style reservoir at the terminal point of the Croton Aqueduct. This was demolished in the early 20th century to make way for the present NYPL building. REPS, VIEWS AND VIEWMAKERS OF URBAN AMERICA, p.160. $6750.

Magnificent Hudson River View

3. Bennett, William James: WEST POINT, FROM ABOVE WASHINGTON VALLEY LOOKING DOWN THE RIVER. New York: Parker & Clover, 1834. Handcolored aquatint after George Cooke. Sheet size: 20 x 27 inches. In good condition, laid onto thin wove paper. Matted.

First state of this spectacular image of the Hudson and West Point: focusing “on the beauty of the Hudson River and the mountains that border it on either side...a celebration of nature, highlighting the ever-changing drama staged by mountains, water, and sky” (Deák).

William James Bennett (ca. 1787-1844) was born in England and received his training at the Royal Academy. He emigrated to the United States in 1826, and is best known for his views of American cities, including the Hudson Valley Region, Niagara Falls, and numerous port cities such as New York, Charleston, and Buffalo. With the arrival of William Bennett and several other emigre artists such as William Guy Wall and John Hill, the quality of aquatint engraving in America was elevated to a level equaling, or perhaps even surpassing, that of European printmakers. This print was published at the beginning of an important period in the history of American topographical view-making.

“Bennett etched four prints after paintings by George Cooke (1793-1849) in his series of views of American cities... American-born George Cooke was a prolific painter of portraits, views, and historical subjects. He painted this scene of West Point in 1832 after he had left New York...for...the Catskill mountains” – Deák, William James Bennett (p.78). “Cooke benefited from the remarkable craftsmanship of...Bennett, who endowed the rendering with a radiant quality” – Deák, Picturing America (p.277). R.A. De Silva, William James Bennett Painter and Engraver (1970), pp.68-70. DEÁK, WILLIAM JAMES BENNETT MASTER OF THE AQUATINT VIEW (New York, 1988), checklist no. 22. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 412. STAUFFER 151. $16,000.

Handsome View by Bennett

4. Bennett, William James: TROY. TAKEN FROM THE WEST BANK OF THE HUDSON, IN FRONT OF THE UNITED STATES ARSENAL. New York: Henry J. Megarey, 1838. Colored aquatint, image area 17¾ x 25½ inches. Mild toning. Very good. Matted and framed.

A wonderfully energetic and skillfully hand-colored view of Troy, New York from across the Hudson River, produced by Henry J. Megarey, the publisher of The Hudson River Portfolio. The artist, William James Bennett was a London-born watercolor painter and aquatint engraver, probably most famous for his 1841 view of New Orleans, one the finest depictions of American maritime commerce ever printed, and part of the same series of American city views as the current example.

Bennett’s Troy view is striking in its own right. “In this beautiful aquatint of Troy by the artist, William James Bennett we see a well-developed and busy city. The white-columned building in the left center is the First Presbyterian Church, erected in 1835-1836 (just in time to be included in the aquatint) and still standing today. The square tower with pin- nacles to its right is Saint Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church, erected in 1827-1828 and also still standing.... Making its way along the Hudson, further to the right, is the steam packet John Mason, its deck, fore and aft, crowded with passen- gers. On the viewer’s side of the Hudson, we are given a good idea of what well-dressed young men of the 1830s might be wearing.... As is typical of Bennett’s work, this view of Troy is a well-balanced pictorial image, containing elements of landscape and riverscape painting” – Deák.

Deák refers to Bennett’s series of nineteen scenes of late 1830s – early 1840s urban America as “the finest collection of folio views of American cities.” The present example is a first state copy, with the word “TROY” unshaded. Exceedingly rare. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 479. STOKES, ICONOGRAPHY OF MANHATTAN ISLAND III, pp.619-22. STOKES & HASKELL, AMERICAN HISTORICAL PRINTS, P.1837-E-53, pp.83-84. FIELDING, AMERICAN ENGRAVERS 152. ENO 494. $7500. 5. Bodmer, Karl: ENTRY TO THE BAY OF NEW-YORK TAKEN FROM STATEN ISLAND. Coblenz, Paris, and London. [ca. 1839-1842]. Handcolored engraving, 10 x 13½ inches; matted and framed to 14 x 19 inches. Clean and fresh, handsome modern color. Very good.

A handsome view from Staten Island, captured by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer upon his arrival in New York harbor in the Fall of 1832. The plate shows the bay speckled with the sails of small boats, guarded by Fort Lafayette, with sweeping rain clouds in the distance. In the foreground, a couple stands by a small tree, taking in the view. This is plate XXXIII from Bodmer and Prince Maximilian’s magnificent travels through the United States.

Prince Maximilian was already an experienced naturalist and explorer in 1832, having made an important scientific ex- pedition to Brazil in 1815-17. His preparations for his trip to North America including retaining the skilled artist, Karl Bodmer, to record illustrations of the journey. Arriving in the fall of 1832, the Prince ascended the Missouri River in the spring of 1833, going as far upstream as the American Fur Company post of Fort Mackenzie in present-day Montana, and spending the winter at Fort Clark, near the Mandan Indian villages. During this prolonged stay, he and Bodmer had ample opportunity to observe the Indian tribes of the Upper Missouri in their full glory, carefully recorded by Bodmer in watercolors. In the spring of 1834 they returned to Europe, and devoted the next five years to preparing the text and plates for this publication. ABBEY 615. GRAFF 4648. HOWES M443a, WAGNER-CAMP 76. $1000.

Wonderful Large View of New York

6. Bornet, John: PANORAMA OF THE HARBOR OF NEW YORK, STATEN ISLAND AND THE NARROWS. New York. 1854. Large color lithograph, approximately 26¾ x 37¾ inches. Matted and framed. Very good.

Large bird’s-eye view of New York City with Staten Island and the Narrows in the foreground. “Bornet’s harbor view features Manhattan (upper right) and Staten Island marking the city’s Atlantic gateway. A line of ships entering and leaving via the Narrows indicates the city’s connection to the rest of the world, which provided commerce vital to the city’s eco- nomic and cultural well-being. The majority of immigrants also passed through the Narrows on the final leg of the journey that brought them to New York” – Symmes. A handsome image of New York in the mid-19th century, printed in color. REPS 2352. SYMMES, IMPRESSIONS OF NEW YORK 50. $6000.

Famous View of Colonial New York

7. [Bowles, Carington]: A VIEW OF FORT GEORGE WITH THE CITY OF NEW YORK FROM THE SW. Lon- don: Printed for Carington Bowles, [after 1764]. Copper plate engraving with hand-coloring, 13 x 18¾ inches. Several small tears repaired at lower edge, not affecting image. Very good. Framed to 17¼ x 23 inches. Not examined out of the frame.

An early and engaging view of New York City. “One of the most sought-after prints of colonial New York is this attractive view, the earliest taken from the west. The Hudson River dominates the foreground, highlighted by a majestic Brit- ish ship – its guns firing and its sails billowing – which dominates the right-hand side of the engraving. The buildings shown are numbered from one to eight, with Trinity Church the northernmost. Moving right from Trinity, we have the Lutheran Church, the New Dutch Church, the French Église du Saint Esprit, the City Hall, the Old Dutch Church on Garden Street, the Secretary’s Office, and finally, the church in the fort.

“The date depicted is clearly between 1724, when Trinity Church was extended to the eastward, and March 1741, when the church in the fort was destroyed by fire. These limiting dates can be further narrowed by considering that the New (later Middle) Dutch Church, finished in 1731, is shown completed, and that the original roof of Trinity Church is shown before it was raised in 1736 to conform to that of the east extension” – Deák. Bowles drew on the earlier engraving by John Carwitham, which he credits.

A rare view, seldom found with original coloring. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 84. STOKES, Vol. 1, pl. 31, pp.267-69. $25,000.

8. Clarke, F. W.: VIEWS AROUND ITHACA: BEING A DESCRIPTION OF THE WATERFALLS AND RAVINES OF THIS REMARKABLE LOCALITY. Ithaca. [1869]. 155,[2]pp. plus ten original mounted photographs. Original blue publisher’s cloth, spine gilt. Spine slightly faded, head and foot of spine chipped, corners rubbed. Minor scattered foxing. Photographs sharp and clear, some with faint offsetting from text. Very good.

A handsome photographically-illustrated volume depicting waterfalls around Ithaca. Several of the photographs are signed in the negative by local photographer J.C. Burritt, whose photographs were also featured in other books about the scenery and landscape of the Ithaca region. Relatively scarce. Not in The Truthful Lens. SABIN 13401. $1000.

9. [Currier & Ives]: Palmer, F.F.: A NIGHT ON THE HUDSON. “THROUGH AT DAYLIGHT.” New York: Currier & Ives, 1864. Handcolored lithograph, 20½ x 28½ inches (sight). Framed to 32¼ x 40 1/8 inches. Very good. Provenance: Donaldson, Lufkin &Jenrette Americana Collection.

Number 47 of the New Best Fifty Currier & Ives prints. The finest of all the steamboat racing scenes. Passing between Anthony’s Nose and Bear Mountain, the two passenger steamboats are seen virtually neck and neck in this midnight race between Albany and New York City. This is one of Fanny Palmer’s most memorable and successful pictures.

Steamboat racing was a dangerous and thrilling activity that tested the skill of captains and engineers. People often bet on the outcomes, but the races were often impromptu contests to the next landing. Here the artist shows the two vessels as having successfully passed the sharpest turn in the river.

Fanny Palmer was the first woman in the United States to work as a professional artist, and to make a living with her art. She produced more Currier and Ives’ prints than any other artist. Known as Fanny, she worked for Nathaniel Currier for more than twenty-five years. She was, according to Deák, “the foremost woman lithographer of her time.” Born and raised in England by a cultivated family, he was already an accomplished painter and lithographer when she came to America in 1844, at which time she exhibited two works at the National Academy of Design. By 1849, she was working for Currier producing landscapes and still lifes. She lithographed these prints herself, usually after her own sketches. CONNINGHAM 4474. GALE 4860. $4800.

A Set of the Peabody Views of New York, in Parts

10. Fay, Theodore S.: VIEWS IN NEW-YORK AND ITS ENVIRONS, FROM ACCURATE, CHARACTERISTIC & PICTURESQUE DRAWINGS, TAKEN ON THE SPOT.... New York: Peabody and Co., 1831[-1834]. Title-leaf, [i]-58pp. Without the final two leaves of text (misnumbered [43]-46), and lacking pp.35-36 and rear wrapper of Part IV. Thirty-seven (of thirty-eight) engraved views on fourteen (of fifteen) sheets, plus folding colored map. In the original seven parts. Quarto. Printed paper wrappers. Minor wear and chipping. Very good. In a clamshell case.

An extremely rare set of the “Peabody Views” of New York, in the original parts as issued, with text by the editor, Theodore Fay. The parts were issued from 1831 to 1834, published by Peabody & Co. in New York and bookseller Obadiah Rich in London. The views were engraved and the text printed entirely in New York, Rich acting as the London distributor.

The Peabody Views “offer fascinating glimpses of New York in the 1830’s” – Deák. Together with the Bourne series issued in 1830-31, they are the first series to show a broad spectrum of American urban life. At least seven artists contributed to the series, with the views showing a mixture of topographical scenes and elevations of important buildings. Deák notes the plates are “energetically conceived, with a thrust towards a painterly effect...a combined process of etching and engraving, requiring prolonged and meticulous craftsmanship, was used in transferring the drawings for both the Peabody and the Bourne views to the plate...the two sets of New York views represent American printmaking at a high level.” A complete list of the views is given in Deák, but scenes include “Broadway from the Park,” “Bowling Green,” “City Hall,” “Navy Yard Brooklyn,” “Short Tower,” “Elysian Fields Hoboken,” “Merchants Room Exchange,” “Hudson River from Hoboken,” “Park Theatre – Park Row,” “Holt’s New Hotel,” “Webb’s Congress Hall,” “Deaf and Dumb Asylum,” among others, as well as the large colored map of New York.

This work is bibliographically complex, and various misprints and misunderstandings, coupled with the great rarity of complete sets, has further muddied the picture; however, we think we have figured it out. The work was originally intended to be issued in ten parts, of which only eight were actually issued; however, the last “part,” not present here, consisted of just two supplementary leaves of text, misnumbered [43] through 46. This has led Howes and others to state the book has only forty-six pages, when in fact it should collate: preliminary leaf, [i]-58,[43]-46pp. There is a folding map and there should be fifteen plates. Deák mis-states this and claims there are sixteen plates, but her own listing reveals this to be incorrect, and it is evident that she misread Stokes, who describes sixteen plates including the map. Of the fifteen plates, two (those of the Episcopal Seminary) and three other scenes (including the Penitentiary and Oil Cloth Manufactory), and the plate of LaGrange Terrace, are almost always missing (they are the final two plates in the series). The Episcopal plate is in this set, but the LaGrange plate, is lacking. The original seven parts are complete except for pages 35-36 of the text, which is lacking, as well as the final pages 43-46.

Stokes notes complete sets at The New York Public Library and New-York Historical Society, while the NUC locates sets at the Library of Congress and Boston Public Library. This set of the Peabody Views in the original parts is an exceptionally rare American view book from an early period, and a most important series of New York views. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 399. STOKES, ICONOGRAPHY OF MANHATTAN 102. $7500.

Stunningly Beautiful Aquatint Views

11. Fisher, George Bulteel: [After Edy, J.W., engraver]: [SIX VIEWS IN NORTH AMERICA, FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT, BY LIEUTENANT FISHER, OF THE ROYAL ARTILLERY. ENGRAVED IN AQUA TINTA BY J.W. EDY]. London: J.W. Edy, 1795-1796. Six aquatints, printed in sepia. Sheet size: 21¼ x 28½ inches. Wide margins. Two with expert repairs to splits at plate mark, else very good.

A very rare complete series of stunningly beautiful aquatint views of North America. “Probably the most beautiful prints of Canada ever published” – Spendlove. The views are captioned as follows:

1) “View on the St Anns or Grand River” 2) “View of St Anthonys Nose, on the North River, Province of New York” 3) “View of the River St Lawrence, Fall of Montmorenci from the Island of Orleans” 4) “Fall of Montmorenci, 246 perpendicular feet” 5) “View of the Falls of Chaudière” 6) “View of Cape Diamond, Plains of Abraham and part of the Town of Quebec and River St. Lawrence”

A beautiful set of aquatints produced by J.W. Edy, after the original artwork of George Bulteel Fisher. Lieutenant Fisher had already established himself as a respected artist, having exhibited at the Royal Academy, when he came to Canada as aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief of the Canadian forces in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward (later the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria). These images of some of Canada’s most striking landscapes were executed during the four years of their tour of duty, and were dedicated by the artist to his royal patron. John William Edy, as talented in aquatint as Fisher was with a brush, executed these prints in 1795-96. The series has long been considered among the most beautiful images of early Canada to be published.

These prints are renowned for their sweeping, dramatic portrayal of the Canadian landscape. In each are found Indians (engaged in various activities), ships, or other devices enabling the artist to add perspective to the romantic landscapes. Of particular note is the view on the St. Ann’s, about which the noted authority on early Canadian illustration, George Spendlove, writes: “[t]his is probably the highest development of the Romance Landscape in the iconography of Canada.” Together, the six views provide an excellent sense of 18th-century Canada as it would appear to her colonists, being at once both harsh and intimidating, while still possessing a certain peace that Spendlove credits to “the Divine Almighty Architect.” A superb suite of prints, virtually unattainable. SPENDLOVE, p.22. $35,000.

12. Friend, Washington F.: [THE HUDSON RIVER FROM FORT PUTNAM]. [Fort Putnam, N.Y. ca. 1860]. Water- color on paper, 9¾ x 12¾ inches. Laid down on modern card, matted. Signed in lower left corner: “W F Friend.” Colors clean and fresh. In fine condition.

A fine watercolor by Washington F. Friend of the Hudson River as seen from Fort Putnam. A single figure in a red coat in the foreground provides scale as well as a touch of contrast to the predominant brown, blue, green, and grey tones used to portray the river and surrounding woods and hills and a partially cloudy sky. Several ships can be viewed on the Hudson and a village across the river is also depicted. In the foreground on the right side can be seen part of a brick wall, perhaps part of the fort’s fortification.

Friend (circa 1820-86), a painter and topographic artist who specialized in watercolors, is particularly well known for his work in the American West. “After failed business, he became an itinerant artist, sketching in Utah, California, Colorado, and Montana and painted a panorama which was exhibited in Canada and the eastern U.S.” – Falk. Following a three-year journey through the western United States and Canada, Friend displayed his work in panoramic form as one element in a theatrical event which included music and recitations. The show toured in the northeast and England. Upon his return to the United States, he continued to paint and exhibit his work.

A fine mid-19th-century watercolor view of the Hudson River as seen from the West Point area. Falk, Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975 I, p.1202. Hughes, Artists in California, p.192. $5000. 13. [Attribued to Friend, Washington F.]: [SET OF THREE UNSIGNED WATERCOLORS ON PAPER OF NI- AGARA FALLS: “NIAGARA,” “HORSESHOE FALLS NIAGARA,” AND “THE ‘RAPIDS’ ABOVE NIAGARA”]. [New York? ca. 1865]. Watercolors on paper. Image: “Niagara” 11 x 16 inches; “Horseshoe Falls Niagara” 10½ x 15 3/8 inches; “The ‘Rapids’ above Niagara” 10½ x 15½ inches. Framed uniformly: 25 x 28½ inches. Fine condition. Matted and framed.

We attribute these three watercolors to Washington Friend on the basis of close examination of and comparison to signed works by Friend of other Niagara scenes. The stylistic similarities are remarkable, i.e. the scale, method and way of rendering turbulent water are very persuasive. They are masterpieces of landscape watercolor painting, clearly by someone who was master of the medium and well-acquainted with the subject.

Washington F. Friend (ca. 1820-86) was born in Washington, D.C. In 1849 he set off on a journey, lasting three years and covering five thousand miles, sketching scenery across the United States and Canada in watercolors. These he rendered into a panorama, painted on a gigantic canvas specially woven in New York, so that it could be scrolled between two poles before an audience. The moving panorama was a two-hour performance. It was augmented by a thirty-two page pamphlet and live commentary by the artist, including his performance of American and Canadian folk songs.

The production premiered in Quebec, then traveled to Montreal, Boston, New York and other North American cities, followed by an equally successful tour of England, where the purpose of the exhibition was “to give the reader and in- tending emigrant a complete account of the principal cities, rivers, and lakes of this wonderful continent....” He gave a performance at Buckingham Palace, thought to have been for Queen Victoria.

Friend returned to the United States to paint watercolors: a group depicting Niagara Falls (where he had lived for a time) was exhibited in Montreal in 1867. He died in England in 1886. $4500. Looking Across the Hudson

14. Garneray, Amroise-Louis: VUE DE NEW YORK. PRISE DE WEAHAWK. A VIEW OF NEW-YORK, TAKEN FROM VEAHAWK. New York. [ca. 1840]. Colored aquatint, 15½ x 18½ inches. Tiny unobtrusive paint stain in the lower margin, likely from the colorist, else excellent condition. Matted and framed.

A fine hand-colored image of New York City as seen from Weehawken, New Jersey around 1834. The image was originally painted by Garneray, and engraved by Sigismond Himely. “In this rendering by the French artist Ambroise-Louis Garneray, Manhattan’s recessed shoreline appears relatively distinct.... The many churches, still holding claim to the title of the city’s skyscrapers, are seen as proud and soaring architectural creations rising from their base without a dissenting line.... The date of Garneray’s rendering is determined, approximately, by the inclusion of the dome of the old Merchants’ Exchange, completed in 1827 but destroyed by fire in December 1835. It can be seen to the left of Trinity Church in the lower reaches of Manhattan” – Deák.

The present example is a slightly later state, with the imprint reading, “A Paris chez Hocquart ainé Succr de Basset. Rue St. Jacques No.64 Déposé. New-York Published by Bailly Ward & Co.”

A rare and striking New York City view from a prolific period of American color plate production. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 433. STOKES, ICONOGRAPHY OF MANHATTAN ISLAND III, p.614. STOKES & HASKELL, AMERICAN HISTORICAL PRINTS, ca. 1834-E-38, pp.78-79. ENO 149a-c. $5000.

From The Hudson River Portfolio

15. Hill, John, engraver: Wall, William Guy: THE JUNCTION OF THE SACANDAGA AND HUDSON RIVERS [No. 2 OF The Hudson River Port Folio]. New York & Charleston: H.I. Megarey & W.B. Gilly New York & John Mill Charleston S.C., [1821-1822]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Printed by Rollinson. Image size (including text): 16 5/8 x 22 inches, sight. Very good. In white gold leaf frame, 23 x 28¼ inches. Provenance: Americana Collection of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

A fine view of the junction of the Sacandaga and the Hudson from The Hudson River Portfolio, one of the “finest collections of New York State views ever published” (Deák). The adjacent text reads:

“The Hudson river receives the water of the Sacandaga, at the village of Luzerne about fourteen miles west of Sandy-Hill, and about two hundred and twenty-four from New-York. There are some considerable rapids at this place, which are dignified by the name of the Little Falls. The shores are broken and precipitous; and the natural course of the current is impeded and distracted by the large fragments of stone. The character of the scenery is a wild, ferocious, and solitary sublimity; lofty and irregular acclivities, covered with the gloomy verdure of interminable forests and glens. The forests of Luzerne are principally of white pine. The time of day represented in the engraving is morning.” DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. R.J. KOKE, CHECKLIST OF JOHN HILL 76. $3500.

16. Hill, John, engraver: William Guy Wall: VIEW NEAR FORT MONTGOMERY. No. 22 OF The Hudson River Port Folio. New York: Henry J. Megarey, [1822]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Sheet size: 18 x 23 7/8 inches. Very good.

Superb example of one of the greatest and earliest works devoted to the American landscape, in the rare first state.

Wall and Hill demonstrate in this view their great talent for investing apparently simple and random scenes with grandeur and intrigue. The focal point of the image is an unadorned raft with a number of men shown from so far away that there no distinguishing individual characteristics: they are mere figures floating down the calm, mirror-like river. The hills that slope down into the river are reflected to such a degree that it’s hard to discern exactly where the hills stops and the reflection begins. The succession of hills and the river recede into the distance beneath a grey sky, also reflected in the river. The hills, river and sky seem to have a quiet liveliness of quite a different order than that of the active little figures on the raft.

“The Hudson River Portfolio, a series of twenty views...celebrates the beauty of the Hudson and its surroundings. It is amongst the finest collections of New York State views ever published....The aquatints show us the region of the Hudson’s headwaters, the rapids it creates on its journey downstream, the bridges it makes imperative overhead, the trade that its navigability spawns, and, most of all, the ennobling topographic settings through which it passes. In the final view, New York from Governor’s Island, we see the Hudson at the end of its journey, where it joins the East River in New York Bay... William Guy Wall...was a native of Dublin who came to America in 1818....Beginning in 1826, he exhibited frequently at the National Academy of Design....[He was skilful with atmospheric perspective in his landscapes, and he created almost spiritual effects with light, at a time when viewers were used to literal depictions. Between 1828 and 1835 he remained in America, but then returned to Dublin for twenty years. He came back to America for four years between 1856 and 1860, before again returning to Ireland where he lived for the remaining four years of his life] Wall frequently worked in tandem with John Hill, whose emigration from England predated that of Wall by two years....According to Koke, ‘the artistic achievement for which Hill is best known...was The Hudson River Portfolio, a landscape series closely akin to the Picturesque Views of American Scenery recently finished for the Careys’ (John Hill Master of Aquatint, p.86)....Hill, an aquatintist virtually without peer in America, was called in to fill the place vacated by John Rubens Smith, who dissociated himself from the Portfolio before he finished engraving the four plates of the first number....Hill belonged to a small group of English-trained engravers who raised the level of American print-making to an extraordinary degree” – Deák, pp.217-218.

This is the first state of the print, numbered 22 (subsequent issues with the number changed to 18) and with only the Megarey imprint. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. KOKE, CHECKLIST OF THE AMERICAN ENGRAVINGS OF JOHN HILL 82. $8000.

17. Hill, John, engraver: Wall, William Guy: BAKER’S FALLS No. 8 OF The Hudson River Port Folio. New York: Henry I. Megarey, [1822-1823]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Image size (including text): 16 7/8 x 22½ inches (sight). Very good. In a gold leaf frame, 23½ x 29 inches. Provenance: Americana Collection of Donald- son, Lufkin & Jenrette.

“In the summer of 1820 the Irish-born and trained landscape artist William Guy Wall (1792-after 1864) went on an extended sketching tour of the Hudson River Valley and its environs. A selection of Wall’s watercolors recording sights on his tour was engraved by the master printmaker John Hill (1770-1850) in The Hudson River Portfolio, published in New York City by Henry J. Megarey between 1821 and 1825. Long considered a cornerstone in the development of American printmaking and landscape painting, its twenty topographical views cover roughly 212 miles of the 315-mile course of the Hudson River. This undertaking paved the way for a wider public appreciation of landscape in the United States. The first series of prints to make Americans aware of the beauty and sublimity of their own scenery, the seminal Portfolio helped to stimulate national pride and cultural identity and was so popular that it was reprinted in 1828 by G. & C. & H. Carvill. It is no wonder that Wall is often seen as a forerunner of the first group of American landscape painters to focus on American subjects known as the Hudson River School.

Baker’s Falls was named after Albert Baker who came to Washington County north of Albany near Saratoga and Lake George in 1768. He built a dam and saw mill at the falls that are believed to be the highest on the mighty Hudson River. A town by that name was built near an Iroquois trail and remained a vital travel route through the American Revolution” – New-York Historical Society notes to an exhibition. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 217-218. New-York Historical Society notes to an exhibition on the Hudson River School. $3500.

18. Hill, John, engraver: Wall, William Guy: RAPIDS ABOVE HADLEY’S FALLS. No. 4 OF The Hudson River Port Folio. New York: Henry Megarey, [1822-1823]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Image size (including text): 16¾ x 22½ inches (sight). Very good. Wood and gold frame with French mat. Frame size: 26¼ x 32 1/8 inches. Provenance: Americana Collection of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

The commentary notes:

“This view of the Rapids was taken from a favourable point between the Falls and Jessup’s Landing, where the Hudson sweeps round an elbow of stupendous rocks, just before it takes its leap over the precipice which gives the name to the great falls. The bed of the river is here sunk between two magnificent walls of perpendicular cliffs, which rise to the height of 70 to 80 feet. Towering and massive rocks are, perhaps, the most striking images of solitude and sublimity. The picture before us exhibits images of this character, in their fullest perfection; and, in combination with another feature of the grand and impressive order conveys to the mind a most effective idea of romantic loneliness. The excellence of Mr. Wall’s water scenery has been before alluded to.”

In the summer of 1820 the Irish-born and trained landscape artist William Guy Wall (1792-after 1864) went on an extended sketching tour of the Hudson River Valley and its environs. A selection of Wall’s watercolors recording sights on his tour was engraved by the master printmaker John Hill (1770-1850) in The Hudson River Portfolio, published in New York City by Henry J. Megarey between 1821 and 1825. Long considered a cornerstone in the development of American printmaking and landscape painting, its twenty topographical views cover roughly 212 miles of the 315-mile course of the Hudson River. This undertaking paved the way for a wider public appreciation of landscape in the United States. The first series of prints to make Americans aware of the beauty and sublimity of their own scenery, the seminal Portfolio helped to stimulate national pride and cultural identity DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. New-York Historical Society notes to an exhibition on the Hudson River School. $3500.

19. Hill, John, engraver: Wall, William Guy: VIEW NEAR SANDY HILL. No. 7 OF The Hudson River Port Folio. New York: Henry J. Megarey, [1822-1823]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Image size (including text): 17¾ x 24½ inches (sight). Very good. Framed in white gold leaf with French mat. Frame size: 24 1/8 x 30¾ inches. Provenance: Americana Collection of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

In 1764, Albert Baker built Kingsbury’s first sawmill near what is known today as Baker’s Falls. As early as 1792, the area of Kingsbury near Baker’s Falls was referred to as Sandy Hill. In 1810, the hamlet incorporated as a village, keeping the name Sandy Hill. Its boundaries expanded to their current limits in the 1840s. In 1910, the village’s name was changed to Hudson Falls

The plate engraved by John Hill was published in 1822-23. Its accompanying text notes:

“To the eye accustomed to dwell on the calm and cultivated beauty of a European landscape, if the scenery of the annexed engraving appear defective in some of those features which lend grace and animation to a picture, it affords a cheerful and striking contrast to the grandeur of the Highlands. Here the Hudson forfeits its right to the name of the North River, suddenly departing from its accustomed course, and conducting its waters in a western direction. The fall of water, in this place, is very diminutive, although sufficient to keep the mill in operation which speculative industry has erected upon it. The section of road is that leading to Glen’s Falls, Lake George, &c.” DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. New-York Historical Society notes to an exhibition on the Hudson River School. $3500.

One of the Earliest and Finest American Printed Landscapes

20. Hill, John, engraver: Wall, William Guy: VIEW NEAR FORT MILLER. No. 10 OF The Hudson River Port Folio (later No. 9). New York: Henry J. Megarey, [1825]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Image size (including text): 16 7/8 x 22 5/8 inches (sight). Very good. In white gold leaf frame, 23 1/8 x 28 7/8 inches. Provenance: Americana Collection of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

This serene landscape portrait looking down the great Hudson River toward West Point is a fine example of the Wall/Hill collaboration in which an apparently straightforward depiction of water, trees, hills and sky creates a rich, evocative mood, a sense of vast calm. In the first state, this is plate 10 and in the subsequent state plate 9. Its text begins:

“View near Fort Miller Bridge / Fort Miller is a small village in the township of Argyle and Washington county; thirty-seven miles north of Albany, and thirteen south of Sandy-Hill. The great post-road from Albany crosses the bridge at this place. There are some considerable rapids and falls near this place; the latter of which were about eight feet in height when this view of the river was taken. Over these falls it is by no means unusual for raftmen to precipitate their rafts. General Putnam is said to have been the first who tried this daring achievement. A party of Indians came suddenly upon him, as he was lying near the rapids with a bateau and five men. The situation of this village is pleasing; the country about it picturesque; and the soil favourable to cultivation.”

In the summer of 1820 the Irish-born and trained landscape artist William Guy Wall (1792-after 1864) went on an extended sketching tour of the Hudson River Valley and its environs. A selection of Wall’s watercolors recording sights on his tour was engraved by the master printmaker John Hill (1770-1850) in The Hudson River Portfolio, published in New York City by Henry J. Megarey between 1821 and 1825. Long considered a cornerstone in the development of American printmaking and landscape painting, its twenty topographical views cover roughly 212 miles of the 315-mile course of the Hudson River. This undertaking paved the way for a wider public appreciation of landscape in the United States. The first series of prints to make Americans aware of the beauty and sublimity of their own scenery, the seminal Portfolio helped to stimulate national pride and cultural identity. KOKE, CHECKLIST 92. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. New-York Historical Society notes to an exhibition. $3500. 21. [Köllner, Augustus Theodore Frederick Adam]: NEW YORK. BROAD-WAY. New York & Paris: Goupil, Vibert & Co., 1850. Lithograph, printed in colors and finished by hand, by Isidore-Laurent Deroy, printed by Cattier. Blind- stamp: “Goupil & Cie Editeurs À Paris” Image size (including text): 7 3/8 x 11 1/8 inches. Sheet size: 11 11/16 x 15 1/8 inches. Very good.

An excellent image from Köllner’s highly important series “Views of American Cities” (New York and Paris, 1848-51). This series of 54 plates was commissioned from Köllner by Goupil, Vibert and Company and was issued both colored and uncolored.

A view looking south on Broadway from south of City Hall Park. At right is Astor House, or the Park Hotel, built in 1834, next to it St. Paul’s Chapel and, in the distance, the spire of Trinity Church. A sign south of St. Paul’s Chapel sign advertises the daguerreotype studio of Mathew B. Brady (at the corner of Broadway and Fulton Street). On the left is Barnum’s Museum at Broadway and Ann Street (a site that it occupied from 1830 to 1865). This intersection was, at the time, the crux of the city, with the two major Protestant churches, City Hall and Barnum’s Museum in close proximity.

Born in Württemburg in 1812, Köllner’s first recorded work dates from his employment at the age of sixteen by the Stutt- gart printer Carl Ebner to work on portfolios of etchings of horses and other animals. He came to America in 1839 and settled in Washington briefly, before moving to Philadelphia in 1840 where he lived and worked for the next 60 years. The present print is from what was probably his most important commission and certainly brought him to the attention of the art-buying public. Köllner’s body of topographic work “makes a distinct contribution to the documentation of the nineteenth-century American scene” (Deák, p.334). DEÁK, p.334. $1200.

22. [New York]: VIEWS ON THE HUDSON [caption title]. [New York. ca. 1860]. 15pp. plus eleven color views, 3¾ x 6½ inches, one folding, with an extra eleven views, 3¾ x 5½ inches. 12mo. Stitched pamphlet and loose in cards in an open-ended cardboard sleeve with printed label. Closed end of cardboard sleeve loose, small 20th-century bookplate. Lacks one plate, another plate duplicated. Light soiling to view cards, pamphlet moderately tanned. Good plus.

A scarce Civil War-era set of view cards and descriptions of sights and geographical attractions along the Hudson River from New York to Glen’s Falls. Other views include the Palisades from Yonkers, West Point, Hudson, the Catskills, Peekskill, and a folding view of Albany. Each section of descriptive text in the pamphlet volume is accompanied by a corresponding colored view of the scene. Thomas Nelson & Sons began publishing this series in 1858, and continued to issue them into the early 1860s, updating views as needed. All editions are scarce.

This set with a duplicated view of Sing Sing to make up for lacking a plate showing a view of the entrance to the Highlands from Peekskill, but also with an extra set of views of Niagara in a similar style, issued by a Buffalo publisher. $650. On Broadway

23. [New York City]: Klinckowstrom, Axel Leonhard: BRODWAY-GATAN OCH RADHUSET I NEW YORK [view from Bref om de Forenta Staterna, Forfattade Under en Resa till Amerika Aren 1818, 1819, 1820...]. [Stockholm. 1824]. Engraving, 10½ x 17½ inches, framed to 19½ x 26 inches. Tasteful modern coloring. Minor toning. Very good.

A handsome Broadway street scene from this highly important and very rare United States view book. According to Stokes, this is “one of the most picturesque and interesting early views of Broadway and City Hall.” The engraving shows City Hall on the left in the immediate distance, with a long view down Broadway, which is lined with trees and houses and bustling with carriages and foot traffic. Several stray dogs and groups of pedestrians bustle about the foreground. “One of the European artists to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for their skillful rendering of scenes in the young American republic is Baron Axel Leonhard Klinckowstrom. A Swedish aristocrat, Klinckowstrom spent three years in the United States (1818-20) as an official emissary of his country, traveling widely and taking a lively interest in all he saw” (NYPL/ Deák). A rare plate, tastefully colored by a modern hand and prime for display. HOWES K201. NYPL/DEÁK 310, 322. SABIN 38053. STOKES 3:563. $2500.

A Famous New York Scene

24. [New York City]: Bennett, Wil- liam James: BROAD WAY FROM THE BOWLING GREEN. New York: Henry I. Megarey, [1834]. Aquatint, 12½ x 16 inches. Framed to 20 x 23 inches. Very minor toning. Fine.

A fine view of Broadway in New York City, drawn and engraved by notable American artist William Ben- nett (1784-1844). “The splendid aquatint serves as an introduction to William James Bennett, who conceived the view and rendered it on copper. His work, full of radiant harmonies and contrasts, makes a lasting impression on any initiate gaining familiarity with collections of topographic views of American cities. He was America’s leading master of aquatint in the first half of the nineteenth century....In all likelihood, Bennett’s view of New York as seen from the Bowling Green, prepared for Henry Megarey’s Street Views, is one of the earliest he executed upon coming to America” – Deák. The scene shows an idyllic upper class neighborhood, the street lined with handsome brownstones on the left and a park on the right. The steeple of a church can be seen in the background. A handsome view, perfect for display. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 350. $3500.

Thirty-six Prang Chromos of Scenes in Central Park, with Twelve More of New York Street Scenes

25. [New York Views]: [Prang, Louis]: [VIEWS IN CENTRAL PARK. (with:) NEW YORK STREET SCENES]. [Boston: Manufactured by L. Prang & Co., 1864]. Central Park: Thirty-six chromolithographic cards, each 4¼ x 2½ inches. Tipped to three album sheets. Street Scenes: Twelve chromolithographic cards, each 4¼ x 2½ inches, tipped to matching album sheet. Light soiling or foxing to a few images. Near fine.

A marvelous collection of thirty-six chromolithographic views of New York City’s Central Park, issued by the renowned firm of Louis Prang and Company. In 1864, Prang issued numerous series of cards, often showing nature scenes, and meant to be collected and tipped into albums. Among these series, one of the rarest is the present series of thirty-six views of Central Park. When these cards were issued Central Park was still a new attraction in New York City. In 1857 a competi- tion had been announced to submit designs for the park, and the winning entry was the “Greensward Plan” submitted by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The park opened later in 1857.

This collection contains views of some of the most famous places in the park, including The Ramble and the Boat Land- ing. The scenes in this collection are:

1) “The Island.” 2) “The Rustic Bridge.” 3) “Entrance to Cave.” 4) “The Lake.” 5) “Rustic Arbor.” 6) “The Brook.” 7) “Moonlight on the Lake.” 8) “Cascade.” 9) “The Arch.” 10) “The Ramble.” 11) “Boat Landing.” 12) “Marble Bridge Over the Lake.” 13) “Rude Stairway.” 14) “Abode of the Swans.” 15) “The Silver Lake.” 16) “Entrance to Cave From the Lake.” 17) “The Tower.” 18) “Ornamental Bridge.” 19) “The Drive.” 20) “The Bridle Path.” 21) “The Music Temple.” 22) “Sunset on the Lake.” 23) “Rustic Arbor.” 24) “A Glimpse of the Lake.” 25) “The Marble Bridge.” 26) “Vine Arbor.” 27) “Bust of Schiller.” 28) “The Fountain.” 29) “On the Ramble, near the Lake.” 30) “Fancy Bridge No. 14.” 31) “The Casino.” 32) “Bridge at the 7th Avenue Entrance.” 33) “The Cove.” 34) “Rustic Bower.” 35) “Rustic Arbor.” 36) “Evening on the Lake.”

Prang followed the present three series of Central Park views, with another two series issued in 1869. Any of the cards in the Central Park series are among the rarest of Prang cards.

With the Central Park series is another early Prang series, depicting street scenes and characters of New York. These charming images capture the spirit of the metropolis at the beginning of the Gilded Age. They are:

1) “Street Musician.” 2) “The Drum Major.” 3) “Emigrants Just Arrived.” 4) “Muddy Street.” 5) “The Fruit Pedlar.” 6) “The Old Coin Merchant.” 7) “The Street Singers.” 8) “Walking Advertisement Balloon Seller.” 9) “The Convoy Over Broadway.” 10) “On Broadway.” 11) “French Nurse.” 12) “Newspaper Boy ‘Tribune Sir?’”

An amusing collection of images of the sort of people who would have been found in Central Park in the 1860s. $8500. Dramatic View of the Great Falls on the Passaic River in New Jersey

26. Pownall, Thomas: A VIEW OF THE FALLS ON THE PASSAICK, OR SECOND RIVER, ON THE PROV- INCE OF NEW JERSEY, THE HEIGHT OF THE FALL BETWEEN EIGHTY AND NINETY FEET, THE RIVER ABOUT EIGHTY YARDS BROAD. VUE DE LA CATARACTE DU PASSAICK, OU SECOND RIVIERE, DANS LA PROVINCE DU NOUVEAU JERSEY. LA HAUTEUR DE CETTE CHUTE EST DE 80 Á 90 PIEDS, ET LA LARGEUR DE LA RIVIERE D’ENVIRON 40 TOISES. SKETCH’D ON THE SPOT BY HIS EXCEL- LENCY GOVERNOR POWNAL. PAINTED AND ENGRAVED BY PAUL SANDBY. London: Thomas Jefferys, 1761. Copper engraving by Paul Sandby, after Pownall. Image size (including text): 12¾ x 20 inches. Sheet size: 14 1/8 x 20¾ inches. A very good copy.

This fine print from the famously rare Scenographia Americana series is after a drawing by Thomas Pownall, colonial governor of Massachusetts. Pownall’s image of the Great Falls of the Passaic is designed to show a great force of Nature. The swirling rush of water roars amid the jagged rocks and untamed forest. Two people, barely visible on a precipice overlooking the falls emphasize the greatness of the torrent. Although the falls would later become the source of power for early American industry, here it is simply a source of awe. “Pownall held liberal views on the connection of England with its colonies, and was a staunch friend to the American provinces. He explained his sentiments in his famous work on The Administration of the Colonies, 1764, stating that his object was to fuse all these Atlantic and American possessions into one Dominion...” – DNB. In the 19th century the falls provided the power for what became the first industrial city in the United States. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 106 (for a list of the views in the Scenographia Americana). REESE & OSBORN, STRUGGLE FOR NORTH AMERICA 74 (ref). $1750.

View from the Bridge

27. [After Pownall, Thomas]: A VIEW IN HUDSON’S RIVER OF THE ENTRANCE OF WHAT IS CALLED THE TOPAN SEA. VUE SUR LA RIVIERE D’HUDSON, DE L’ENTREE COUNUE SOUS LE NOM DE MER DE TOPAN. SKETCH’D ON THE SPOT BY HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR POWNAL, PAINTED BY PAUL SANDBY, ENGRAVED BY PETER BENAZECH. London: Printed for John Bowles, Robert Sayer, Thos. Jef- ferys, Carington Bowles and Henry Parker, [n.d. 1768]. Copper engraving by Peter Benazech, after Pownall. Sheet size: 16 x 22¼ inches. Very good.

This fine print from the famously rare Scenographia Americana series is after a drawing by Thomas Pownall, colonial governor of Massachusetts. This idyllic scene depicts a portion of the Hudson known as the Tappan Zee, a long widening of the river that occurs about ten miles north of Manhattan. The artist, from a rather high elevation, looks north with the Palisades on his left and the rolling hills of Westchester on his right, where tiny farmhouses are just visible. The contrast between this place as it was and as it is now is, to say the least, astonishing.

“Published following the conclusion of the French and Indian War, and in a period of great public interest in the American colonies, the Scenographia Americana was the first book dedicated to a large-scale artistic depiction of the American landscape. From the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the West Indies, the scenes include locations of battles, views of strategic provincial capitals, and newly secured areas of commercial importance. Just as clear is the celebration of nature’s ‘astonishingly great’ expanse, to cite Pownall, great in width and in height. Here are harbors and rivers, cascades, forests and skies” – Hood.

“The Scenographia Americana begins with views from Canada: Quebec City, the Montmorency Falls, Cape Rouge, the Gaspé, Rock Percé, the Miramichi Valley, Montreal, and Louisbourg....Then follow four views of cities in long-settled British North America: New York (twice), Boston, and Charleston. Next are four views of dramatic river landscapes in New York and New Jersey: the Jersey Palisades, the Catskills as seen from the Hudson, the Great Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River, and the Passaic River Falls....The next two prints show the Moravian settlement at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and an imaginary scene of an American farm....The rest of the series shifts to the Caribbean, with four views of the harbor and city of Havana, two street scenes of Havana, one view of the British attack on Roseau, Dominique, and three scenes around Guadeloupe (one of a battle and two of the British occupation forces)...” – Crowley.

“The work is more than neatly done. All the prints are exceptionally well executed with respect to the original topographic projections as well as in the engraving of the plates. Five print publishers...were involved in promoting the series” – Deák. “These views are second in quantity only to those that appeared in The Atlantic Neptune....In quality they are second to none of the eighteenth century productions” – Fowble. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 106 (for a list of the views in Scenographia Americana). Graham Hood, “America the Scenic” in Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Spring 2009. John E. Crowley, “The Scenographia Americana (1768): A Transnational Landscape for Early America” in Common-Place, Vol. 6, No. 2 (January 2006). FOWBLE, TWO CENTURIES OF PRINTS IN AMERICA 25-30. REESE & OSBORN, STRUGGLE FOR NORTH AMERICA 74 (ref). $4500.

The Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River, by Governor Pownall

28. Pownall, Thomas: A VIEW OF THE GREAT COHOES FALLS ON THE MOHAWK RIVER, THE FALL ABOUT SEVENTY FEET; THE RIVER NEAR A QUARTER MILE BROAD. London. 1768. Mezzotint engraving, 36 x 53 cm. A very good, clean impression.

This handsome view of one of the most famous sights in colonial America was originally drawn by Governor Thomas Pownall, the enlightened British administrator who served in the American colonies in the 1750s and ‘60s. It was part of Pownall’s larger project to create or commission a series of views in the British dominions in America from Quebec to the Caribbean, issued in parts in the 1760s and collectively in 1768 as Scenographia Americana, with a total of twenty-eight plates. Only a few complete sets are known, and the plates generally appear singly, as here.

This view was drawn by Pownall on one of his trips while governor of Pennsylvania and New York, probably about 1759. The Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk, now submerged beneath the water behind a dam, were a famous natural phenomenon in America, on the edge of what was then wilderness and before the more spectacular Niagara was reachable by anyone but fur traders. Pownall’s view, taken from downstream looking up at the falls, captures the untamed wildness of the scene in a dramatic way. This, as are all of the Scenographia... views, is rare. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 106 (for a list of the views in the Scenographia Americana). REESE & OSBORN, STRUGGLE FOR NORTH AMERICA 74 (ref). $8500.

A Grand Park View in New York City, 1849

29. [After Smillie, James]: Sarony & Ma- jor, Lithographers: VIEW OF UNION PARK, NEW YORK, FROM THE HEAD OF BROADWAY. New York: Published by Williams and Stevens, 353 Broadway, 1849. Handcolored lithograph, image 11¾ x 16 inches, full margins. Title and legend in lower margin. Uniformly but lightly browned.

An interesting panorama of downtown New York City, peopled with stylish Manhattan- ers, their horses and coaches. In addition to the superb depiction of Union Park and its great fountain, this print provides an excellent architectural view of the Church of the Puritans, the Spingler Institute, and Calvary Church. James Smillie (Scottish, 1807-85; active in the United States after 1829), elected to the National Academy of Design in 1851, was widely known for his American city and country scenes. His principal livelihood came from the engraving of bank notes. The lithography firm of Sarony & Major was established in 1846 by Napoleon Sarony and Henry B. Major, former employees of Nathaniel Currier. GROCE & WALLACE, pp.558, 585. $500. The Wall Views of New York

30. Wall, William G.: NEW YORK FROM HEIGHTS NEAR BROOKLYN. [with:] NEW YORK FROM WEEHAWK. New York. 1823. Two large folio aquatint engravings, each 52 x 68cm. Both images have been professionally cleaned and backed, a few minor surface abrasions, considerable toning, but decent copies of the first states of these rare views. Archivally matted, protected with Mylar sheets.

William Guy Wall published his two views of New York in the summer of 1823. “They are two of the most beautiful views we have of New York City in the early nineteenth century” – Deák. The Brooklyn view, taken from Brooklyn heights, shows the growing city across the East River. Wall took great care to accurately render the buildings on the opposite shore, observable in great detail. The view from Weehawk reverses the view, looking at the west side of town along the Hudson. “Both views are exceedingly well-balanced, and both retain an eighteenth-century elegance in the clarity and fluid handling of the topographic projection...” – Deák. The plates were engraved by John Hill, and are here present in their first states. Stokes asserts that the Brooklyn view is considerably rarer than the one from Weehawk. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 335, 336. STOKES, ICONOGRAPHY OF MANHATTAN 92, 93. OLDS, BITS & PIECES OF AMERICAN HISTORY 14, 15. $5000.

New York, from The Hudson River Portfolio

31. Wall, William G.: NEW YORK FROM GOVERNORS ISLAND. [New York. 1825]. Colored aquatint, 16 x 20 inches, mounted. Uniformly toned, carefully repaired tear in margin only, trimmed on lower edge affecting the credit line to The Hudson River Portfolio. Else a good copy. Archival matting, and protected with Mylar sheet.

One of the most celebrated views of New York, from Wall’s famous Hudson River Portfolio, executed by Wall and John Hill between 1821 and 1825. This is the final plate in the series, showing the Battery and lower New York City from Governor’s Island. The fort on the island is in the right foreground, a sailboat is in the middle distance, and the skyline of New York, along with a forest of masts at the docks, stretches across the picture. All plates from The Hudson River Portfolio are rare. DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. $5000. Item 31.

32. Wall, William Guy, and John Hill [engraver]: VIEW NEAR FORT MONTGOMERY. No. 18 OF The Hudson River Port Folio. New York: Henry J. Megarey, [1822]. Aquatint, colored by hand, by John Hill, after W.G. Wall. Sheet size: 18½ x 24 inches. Very good.

A superb example of one of the greatest and earliest works devoted to the American landscape. Wall and Hill demonstrate in this view their great talent for investing apparently simple and random scenes with grandeur and intrigue. The focal point of the image is an unadorned raft with a number of men shown from so far away that there are no distinguishing individual characteristics: they are mere figures floating down the calm, mirror-like river. The hills that slope down into the river are reflected to such a degree that it is dif- ficult to discern exactly where the hills stop and the reflection begins. The succession of hills and the river recede into the distance beneath a grey sky, also reflected in the river. The hills, river, and sky seem to have a quiet liveliness of quite a different order than that of the active little figures on the raft.

“The Hudson River Portfolio, a series of twenty views...celebrates the beauty of the Hudson and its surroundings. It is amongst the finest collections of New York State views ever published....The aquatints show us the region of the Hudson’s headwaters, the rapids it creates on its journey downstream, the bridges it makes imperative overhead, the trade that its navigability spawns, and, most of all, the ennobling topographic settings through which it passes. In the final view, New York from Governor’s Island, we see the Hudson at the end of its journey, where it joins the East River in New York Bay.... William Guy Wall...was a native of Dublin who came to America in 1818....Beginning in 1826, he exhibited frequently at the National Academy of Design....[He was skillful with atmospheric perspective in his landscapes, and he created almost spiritual effects with light, at a time when viewers were used to literal depictions. Between 1828 and 1835 he remained in America, but then returned to Dublin for twenty years. He came back to America for four years between 1856 and 1860, before again returning to Ireland where he lived for the remaining four years of his life.] Wall frequently worked in tandem with John Hill, whose emigration from England predated that of Wall by two years....According to Koke, ‘the artistic achievement for which Hill is best known...was the Hudson River Portfolio, a landscape series closely akin to the Pic- turesque Views of American Scenery recently finished for the Careys’ (John Hill Master of Aquatint, p.86)....Hill, an aquatintist virtually without peer in America, was called in to fill the place vacated by John Rubens Smith, who dissociated himself from the Port Folio before he finished engraving the four plates of the first number....Hill belonged to a small group of English-trained engravers who raised the level of American print-making to an extraordinary degree” – Deák (pp.217-18). Second state of three (with number “18” added in manuscript to title). DEÁK, PICTURING AMERICA 320. KOKE, CHECKLIST OF THE AMERICAN ENGRAVINGS OF JOHN HILL 82. REESE, STAMPED WITH A NATIONAL CHARACTER 6. $6000.

Views on Lake George and in New York

33. [Watercolor Album]: VOYAGE AUX ETATS-UNIS. 1876 – 1877. [New York and various places]. 1876-1877. Nineteen original watercolors, 11 3/8 x 7 7/8 inches and smaller, mounted recto and verso of seven thin card leaves. One page mounted with four drawings, one with three, and one with two; the others with one drawing per page, the final page blank. Oblong folio, 13¼ x 18½ inches. Modern blue half morocco gilt, blue morocco title label centrally placed on upper cover reading: “Voyage aux / Etats-Unis / 1876-1877.” All painted by a single hand, and all with the location identified in ink in the lower margin of each drawing or on the mount just below.

A fine series of original watercolor views of Lake George, New York, and elsewhere, including one watercolor of Central Park, New York.

From the heading on the first page of this album (“Voyage aux Etats-Unis / 1876-1877”), as well as from the wording of the captions to the drawings, it is clear that these highly accomplished watercolors are the work of a French-speaking visi- tor to North America in 1876-77. They include fourteen views of Lake George and its vicinity (including one of Caldwell [now Lake George Village] and one of Tea Island). Also included is a single view of a rocky outcrop and trees in Central Park, another of Glenn Falls on the Hudson, and a third of the Montmorency Falls just outside Quebec, as well as two fine but rather unexpected Swiss views of Amphion, Lake Geneva (both dated 1877). $7500. 34. Wharton, Thomas Kelah: NEW YORK FROM BROOKLYN HEIGHTS [caption title]. New York: R. Miller, 1834. Steel engraving, 11¼ x 14 inches. Matted. Hand colored. A few small edge tears. Minor soiling. Very good.

“Painted and engraved for the New York Mirror 1834.” The view shows three young men seated on the river bank overlooking the New York harbor, which is full of ships. Church steeples and taller buildings are visible in the background. A handsome image. $375.

Please come visit us this weekend at the fifth annual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair, the largest regional antiquarian book fair in America. We will be offering a choice selection of rare Americana and fine Literature in booth 409 at the Brooklyn Expo Center – Greenpoint, this Saturday & Sunday, September 8-9. For more details, and a complete schedule of fair events, please visit www.brooklynbookfair.com. We look forward to seeing you in Brooklyn!