Bird's-Eye View of New-York & Brooklyn

New York,, 1849. No Binding. Near Fine. 13 x 23 inches. Chromolithograph with period hand color; light soiling & creasing, mended edge split well away from printed surface, overall near excellent with still vibrant color. An apparently unrecorded, very attractive view of New York City and Brooklyn, not listed in the relevant references* and not in major collections, including the NYPL and the New York Historical Society; also no copies in OCLC. It was the first, or one of the first views of New York produced by chromolithography. (Below the view at right is noted: "Printed in Colors by F. Michelin III Nassau-Street.") The use of chromolithography was just beginning when this view appeared; the first publication of any kind to use the process in the United States was in 1840. The view was published by Edward Anthony (1819-1888), one of the first Americans to produce and market daguerreotypes, photographs, and stereographic images. He eventually became New York's leading manufacturer of photographic equipment. His business occupied an entire building at the address given on this work-205 Broadway-and was a center for these emerging technologies in New York. The view provides much interesting period detail, especially regarding the maritime life of the city at the time. As was often the case with views of New York City dating from the first half of the 19th century, the city is viewed here from a vantage point above the New Jersey palisades. With little attention paid to proper scale, nautical craft of various types dominate the foreground and the view as a whole. Greatest prominence is given to four very large steamships, three of which are named. They are from left to right: the "Henrick Hudson," the "New World," and the "Isaac Newton." Highly curious are two ferries in the shape of halved ovals, each with very tall smoke stacks. The placing in the near foreground of a punt with the ladies and gentlemen out for a pleasant day on the water, in the midst of the hubbub of the harbor, offers a wry contrast. The city's skyline is still dominated by church steeples, and the outer edges of the city bristle with the masts of ships. Castle Clinton (or Castle Garden) and Governor's Island with its military installations are both clearly visible. The Brooklyn Naval Yard can be seen in the distance in the far center of the view, and Wallabout Bay is upper left from Governor's Island. In the far distance at upper right, the Narrows can be just made out. Fourteen locations are noted in the key below the view. Union Square is referred to as Union Park, and Washington Square is still Washington Parade Gardens. Stokes in the index of the Iconography under the entry for Anthony mentions that Anthony published in 1848 a view of the city from the east but does not mention this view. Not in Reps, Stokes-Haskell, Eno or in any of the relevant references.