(American 1776-1860)

from Picturesque Views of American Scenery, uncolored first state, John Hill, engraver, M. Carey & Son, publisher, Philadelphia, 1820, aquatint with etching, plate 11-7/8 x 15-3/8 in.; together with accompanying original sheet of descriptive text and printed, blue paper wrapper; unframed

Note: A rare print from a very interesting series of American views that combine the work of some of the most talented Americans of the early nineteenth century. Joshua Shaw (circa 1777-1860) was born and trained in England, where he exhibited at the Royal Academy. With a recommendation of his work from Benjamin West, Shaw emigrated to Philadelphia in 1817. He was enthralled by his new country, and as a result conceived the grand scheme of producing a folio of prints based on "correct delineations of some of the most prominent beauties of notable scenery." He planned to travel throughout the United States to make his drawings, and to issue the prints by subscription in six sets of six views each. This was the first systematic attempt to depict the American landscape, and it is a foundation work in the history of American color-plates. Only eighteen of the intended thirty-six prints were ever produced. The aquatinting of the prints was done by John Hill (1770-1850), who was another English expatriate newly arrived in Philadelphia. This was Hill’s first major American commission and within a short period, he was considered the premier aquatinter in the country. The publisher of the series, Mathew Carey & Son, was no less illustrious than the others. Mathew Carey was perhaps the dominant American publisher of the first two decades of the nineteenth century, and the successor firms of Carey & Son, and then Carey & Lea continued to play an important part in the history of American maps, books, and prints. McCauley, v. 11; Koke, 40; Stauffer 1343.