East View of Philadelphia, Pennsylva. [sic.] and part of Camden New Jersey

Book Description

Philadelphia: Augustus Kollner, 1856. Lithograph, printed in colours and finished by hand, by and after Kollner (visible sheet size: 19 x 30 3/8 inches). Matted and framed. Provenance: Martin P. Snyder. The Snyder copy of this large rare view: "It is pleasant here, right on the banks of the noble Delaware, opposite Philadelphia" (Walt Whitman). "Camden, New Jersey [home of Walt Whitman from 1873-1892], slopes gently towards the river in the foreground of the view. The urban presentation ... is softened by the many trees clustered around the handsome buildings. Across the waters of the Delaware, Philadelphia [is seen] ... with its dense construction and busy ship-filled quays ... In the middle of the river is Windmill Island. The building in Philadelphia with the two towers and cupolas, in the left center background, is probably Spruce Street Baptist Church; the semicircular building surmounted by a cupola, to the right and just beyond the two towers near the waterfront, is the Merchants' Exchange ... The tall spire near the water ... is Christ Church... German-born Augustus Theodore Frederick Kollner arrived in America in 1839 and enjoyed an artistically fruitful career in this country until his death in 1906 ... Associated at one time or another with each of the major lithographic firms in Philadelphia, he worked his way from journeyman to artist, to chief artist, to partner. Ultimately, he owned his own establishment. The [present] view of Philadelphia, both drawn and published by the artist, documents his artistic and professional success in America." (Gloria Deak) Deak Picturing America 707; Reps 3587; Wainwright 104; cf. Wainwright, "Augustus Kollner, Artist" in PMHB, vol. 84, no. 3.

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