Knapp, Samuel L.:

$3,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

THE PICTURESQUE BEAUTIES OF THE HUDSON RIVER AND ITS VICINITY; ILLUSTRATED IN A SERIES OF VIEWS, FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, TAKEN EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK, AND ENGRAVED ON STEEL, BY DISTINGUISHED ... A particularly fine set of the first issue of this scarce and beautiful work of New York iconography. "Of this fine work Parts I and II only were issued, the Panic of 1857 [i.e. 1837] caused its discontinuance" - Sabin. The author, Samuel L. Knapp, was an early member of the American Antiquarian Society as well as a representative in the Massachusetts House and a prolific author of biographies (which the DAB calls "ornate, laudatory and patriotic, and wholly untrustworthy"). His explanatory text in these volumes waxes similarly panegyric: "Running your line of vision seawards from the end of Long Island, Coney Island rises to view, a mass of sand extending some distance. This place is famous for its refreshing breezes and fine bathing grounds, so much required in the neighborhood of a populous city, in the summer months. Over and near the island, numberless sea gulls are seen, now skimming the surface of the water, now soaring aloft, enjoying the sunshine and breeze, and as the eye falls from them it catches the countless sails of commerce."Each volume contains three steel-engraved plates in addition to an engraved titlepage. The first includes "The Narrows, from the Pavilion, near the Quarantine Ground, Staten Island," "Bay and Harbour of New York, From Bedlow's Island," and "Hell G

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.