View From School House in 42nd Street Between 2nd & 3rd Av.s Looking North

New York: W.C. Rogers & Co, 1868. unbound. Lithograph. Image measures 4" x 7". This image shows the east side of 42nd Street in the early stages of its development. Marking some of the northern-most settlement of Manhattan, the area shown here is little more than a shantytown, with small wooden houses built into a rocky terrain. Playing children cavort with scattered livestock such as pigs, goats, and sheep, while the adult residents work with carts and wagons carrying goods. The image appeared in the 1868 edition of Shannon's Manual of the Corporation of the City of New York, an annual compendium of records about city history, city council information, and public works through text, maps, lithographs, and engravings. (Inventory #: 279752)