Gothaischer hof Kalender zum Nutzen u. Vergnungen auf das Jahr 1795.

£1,750 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A rare pocket-sized almanac produced for the European elite, containing the first plan of Washington D.C. to be published outside of the U.S.A. In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, George Washington designated a site on the Potomac river for the future American federal capital, with an Act of Congress signed 16th July 1790. Rather than cede primacy to either New York or Philadelphia, the decision to start afresh with a new capital city also allowed for ambitious infrastructural planning. Initially employing American engineer Major Andrew Ellicott to survey the land and lay boundaries, Jefferson also enlisted the services of French engineer Pierre Charles l’Enfant. With the direction to draw from the grandeur of several European cities, l’Enfant’s continental flavour can be seen carried through in many of Washington D.C.‘s most spectacular architectural features. L’Enfant himself though was a contentious character, ultimately dismissed by Washington in 1792. Ellicott replaced him and is responsible for the final manuscript draft of the city’s plan, now housed in the Library of Congress. The first printed version of Ellicott’s plan was a small insert in March 1792 edition of The Universal Asylum Columbian Museum . This smaller reproduction was engraved as a stopgap whilst the Philadelphia firm of James Thackara and John Vallance worked on the larger separately issued sheet, which came out in November 1792. In between these two publications, Samuel Hill of Boston also issu

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