Halifax

Book Description

New York: Charles Magnus & Co. 12 Frankfurt St., circa 1860. Lithographic transfer with original hand-colour. Mounted onto original black and gold border with printed title. Image size: 4 ¾ x 7 inches. 8 ½ x 11 ½ inches. A rare birds-eye view of Halifax, Nova Scotia by Charles Magnus, the industrious New York publisher. Bird's-eye views and sweeping panoramas of North American cities became extremely popular at mid-century. Examples were eagerly collected and could be seen in every print shop and bookseller across the country. Town views were originally issued in large format, but entrepreneurial publishers such as Charles Magnus, soon realized that there was a market for smaller format views. Magnus, who was a prolific publisher of games and stationary, made a name for himself by publishing a wealth of smaller city views of prominent American and Canadian cities. These lithographs were typically octavo size and came with a decorative black and gold border. They are all extremely detailed and today are considered quite rare. This charming view of Halifax is a wonderful example of Magnus's fine work and a stunning impression with nice early colour and an original black and gold border.

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