Color Aquatint, 1849

PAPPRILL, Henry (1817-1896), after HILL, John William (1812-1879). New York from the Steeple of St. Paul’s Church Looking East, South and West. New York: Henry J. Megarey, 1849.

Color aquatint of one of the most attractive 19th-century views of New York City, in proof state. "Here is an extraordinary view of Manhattan as a rapidly developing metropolis. John William Hill has placed us at just the right height for peering into the city’s streets, sizing up the look of its buildings, and noting the increasing density of its structures as the midpoint of the nineteenth century is reached" (Deák). P.T. Barnum’s Museum of Sensational Curiosities and Mathew Brady’s Daguerrian Miniature Gallery are clearly visible in the foreground. On this copy, the word "Proof" appears engraved to the right of the title; Megarey's publisher’s label is in grey, with the word "Pub." and with "Glass, Paints & Oils" at the top of the Hopkins and Crow sign unlike the proof copy recorded in Deák and Stokes & Haskell. Deák 578; Stauffer vol. 1, p. 199; Stokes & Haskell p.1848/E-119; M. Symmes, Impressions of New York 36.

Color aquatint with additional hand-coloring, 1017 x 662mm plate on 1037 x 685mm sheet (closed tear about 58mm into image, repaired; remnants of old tape on top margin; mat burn). Matted and framed.