[Philadelphia] William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, when he founded the Province of Pensylvania in North America 1681
London: John Boydell, June 12, 1775. Hand-colored engraving; engraved by John Hall after the painting by Benjamin West. Approximately 19 x 24 in. (483 x 610 mm) (sight). Trimmed to plate mark; wear along visible edges; scattered repaired tears, some extending into image. Unexamined out of mat and frame, 28 1/4 x 33 in. (717 x 838 mm).
An iconic image, considered one "of the best-known prints of a Philadelphia scene" (Snyder, City of Independence, p. 252), depicting William Penn entering into the Treaty of Shackamaxon with the Lenni Lenape people, and purchasing the land that would become Pennsylvania. In 1771, to help bolster the reputation of the Penn family during a time of increasing unrest, William Penn's son, Thomas (1702-75), commissioned Benjamin West to create his allegorical painting, upon which John Boydell based his print.
This lot is located in Philadelphia.
![[Philadelphia] William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, when he founded the Province of Pensylvania in North America 1681](https://assets.basta.app/accounts/4832eb18-f9a7-4c12-8295-871abe232696/images/3afd3787-9ffc-4764-bba8-bdab7e036c6c?format=auto&width=1080&quality=75)
![[Philadelphia] William Penn's Treaty with the Indians, when he founded the Province of Pensylvania in North America 1681](https://assets.basta.app/accounts/4832eb18-f9a7-4c12-8295-871abe232696/images/1cc93c61-0ccb-4672-9262-a20733d48df3?format=auto&width=1080&quality=75)