After Parsons and Atwater.
“The City of Philadelphia”

This is a fabulous oversized bird’s eye view of the city as it appeared in the last quarter of the 19th century. It was created by the famous Currier and Ives team of lithographers. A key below the image identifies 66 important features and buildings.

West Philadelphia occupies the foreground of the image bisected by the Schuylkill River with boathouses on the shore, rowers in their sculls on the water, the Waterworks buildings and the reservoir on Fairmount where the Philadelphia Museum of Art would be constructed a little over a quarter of a century later.  This lithograph also includes the first home of the Museum when it was known as the Art Gallery and part of the Centennial Exhibition in Fairmount Park. The exhibition grounds are shown in the lower left corner of the image. The Pennsylvania Rail Road Deport and Car Works and the Reading Depot are shown in the center of the foreground. The middle ground depiction extends from Girard College, Eastern State Penitentiary and center city to South Street.

The background of the view provides a detailed depiction of the Delaware River with Treaty, Windmill and Smith’s Islands, and across the river to Camden then shown to be surrounded by open fields and countryside.

Colored printed lithograph.
27 3/8 x 38 3/8 inches, sheet.
Full margins.
Very nice condition save discoloration in top margin (not visible when matted)
Framed in nice burl moulding with rag mat.
Ref: Gale #1231