A finely detailed wood engraving from Picturesque America, or the Land We Live In, published in New York by D. Appleton and Company between 1872 and 1874. The text was edited by the notable William Cullen Bryant but the book is best known and most highly valued for its illustrations. The illustrators usually traveled to the sites they were to depict so their engravings were accurate, if somewhat idealized. Picturesque America was a very influential work, proudly displayed on the parlor tables in the homes of the well-to-do across the country. A composite of 3 lovely views of the river flowing through Fairmont Park in Philadelphia. One shows a lone sculler rowing by mill buildings.

9 x 12 3/4 inches, sheet.
Hand colored wood engraving.
Very good condition with light overall patina.

A wonderfully naïve view of the forested and rocky hills familiar to anyone who hikes in this part of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Kollner shows a man with a walking stick standing below a huge outcropping of Wissahickon schist hanging above his head. This engraving is very similar in style to the lithographs Kollner published in Bits of Nature and some Art Products in Fairmount Park at Philadelphia, Penna. In 1878.

Augustus Kollner (1813-1906) was born in Dusseldorf Germany, immigrated to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. He had studied painting and lithography in Frankfurt and quickly landed a job working for Huddy and Duval’s U.S. Military Magazine. In the 1840’s he created a large series of watercolors of American scenes and fifty-four of these were published in Paris between 1848 and 1851 by Goupil, Vibert & Co. as the famous Views of American Cities. Kollner worked for many of the lithographic firms in the city including J.T. Bowen, Frederick Kuhl, Thomas Sinclair, Wagner & McGuigan before going into business on his own.

6 3/4 x 11 3/8 inches, sheet.
4 7/8 x 6 5/8 inches, plate.
Engraving printed with green ink.
Excellent.