[Americana] [New York] Currier, (Nathaniel), and (James Merritt) Ives The City of New York

New York: Currier & Ives, ca. 1857-72. Variant printing. Lithograph printed in color. Image with text: 21 3/4 x 32 5/8 in. (552 x 829 mm). Sheet: 24 1/4 x 35 3/4 in. (616 x 908 mm). Inscribed in pencil on verso, "Philip Riley/March 7 1873/Tipton Mo". All edges slightly trimmed; small chip in upper right corner; tape repairs along upper edges verso; sheet unevenly toned; mat burn along edges, scattered dampstaining along same. In mat and in frame, 31 x 42 1/2 in. (79 x 108 cm). Gale 1217-1218

A variant printing of one of Currier & Ives's most desirable images. Originally printed by Nathaniel Currier in 1856 at a slightly smaller scale, it was then republished in 1870 after James Merritt Ives joined the printmaking firm in 1857. This appears to be a variant of Gale 1217 and 1218, and likely printed sometime between them. This is printed in color, as is 1217, and the size and imprint match 1218, but the number of landmarks (33 in 1217 and 40 in 1218) can counted in ways matching both printings. The address on this copy of 152 Nassau St. which places it between 1857-72.

A large and handsome birds-eye view of New York City, looking north, with Battery Park in the fore-ground, Brooklyn to the lower right, Jersey City and Hoboken to the upper left, and with numerous buildings and locations in the city listed along the bottom margin. Castle Garden, now called Castle Clinton, is depicted at left. The "East River Bridge," pictured in the upper right, would eventually become the Brooklyn Bridge when it was completed in 1883.

Provenance

From the library of Richard Maass (1919-1998), noted collector and founding member of The Manuscript Society