Alms House in Spruce Street Philadelphia

by William R. Birch, Thomas Birch

$1,750 · Offered by Donald A. Heald Rare Books

Plate 25 from the very rare first American colour-plate book, with views that are uniquely valuable among American historical prints Martin Snyder . This hand-coloured engraving depicts the Philadelphia Almshouse and House of Employment, commonly known as the Bettering House. Birch animates the foreground with a cart carrying swine and three men attempting to catch an escaped pig, a small urban incident that gives the scene much of its immediacy. The complex was built in

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