Pittsburgh, PA New York: Appleton & C0, 1872. $135.00

“Pittsburg from Soldiers’ Monument”

A finely detailed woodl 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 lively scene of well dressed families gathering on the terrace with a fountain and the park beyondWilliam Cullen Bryant.

Bryant marveled at the topography created by the confluence of the three rivers; the Ohio, the Monongahela, and the Younghiogheny (sic) (Allegany).

There is a lovely wood engraving of “Pittsburgh from Reservoir” on verso.

Hand colored wood engraving.
9 ½ x 12 ¾ inches, sheet.
Excellent condition.