Lot 214D email save

BIRCH, William. Schuylkill Bridge, High Street, P

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Philadelphia: W. Birch, May 1805. Engraving, hand colored (350 x 430 mm). Inset titled "The Bridge as it will appear when covered." Framed. Condition: closed tear to right margin into image, some spotting. Provenance: Martin P. Snyder. very rare first state of a separately-issued birch print of the high street permanent bridge. After issuing the first edition of his City of Philadelphia, Birch began working on the second. Among the new landmarks in the city which he desired to include in the new edition was the Schuylkill Permanent Bridge. "This structure was truly a landmark in the city, and Birch's conclusion that it warranted a place in his work was certainly justifiable. The floating bridges which this structure replaced had several times been carried away by storms, and in 1798 a corporation had been formed to undertake the new venture. The cornerstone had been laid in October, 1800, just before the first edition appeared, and the bridge was opened for use on January 1, 1805" (Snyder, William Birch: His Philadelphia Views, pp. 282-283). However the print that Birch included in the 1804 second edition depicted the bridge in its anticipated finished state, even though it was still under construction. In this print, separately-issued by Birch just five months after the opening of the bridge, the bridge is depicted as it was at that time, i.e. still uncovered. The covering would be constructed later that year and the bridge would become the first covered bridge in America. Snyder, MOA 695; Snyder, William Birch: His Philadelphia Views, 43a.

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