The Country Seats of the United States of North America, with Some Scenes Connected with Them

by BIRCH, William R. (1755-1834)

$65,000 · Offered by Biblio

Springland, Pennsylvania: William Birch, 1809. Oblong folio. (8 3/4 x 10 7/8 inches). 20 hand-colored engravings, including title and section title, and 18 views. The general title and Mendenhall plate are second issue, the title with a letterpress copyright note on verso and Mendenhall with its spelling corrected. Publisher's wrappers with letterpress paper title-label on the upper wrapper with plain rear wrapper. Housed within a cloth chemise and quarter morocco slipcase Provenance: Bookplate of Jay Snider. Martin P. Snyder, bibliographer. The Snyder-Snider copy in original wrappers of one of the earliest and rarest American color-plate books, and the first on American scenery. "Birch's skill as a miniaturist is demonstrated in his charming book." - Reese Country Seats, Birch's second book published in America, principally depicts views near Philadelphia (13), but also shows estates in Virginia, including Mount Vernon; New York; New Jersey; Maryland; and Louisiana. Birch and his sons, Thomas and George, collaborated on the work, combining line and stipple engraving with delicate coloring to rich effect. Country Seats was conceived to be primarily decorative, a handsome series of views aimed at an audience who might possess country estates themselves. This kind of luxury viewbook, a genre of immense popularity in England and Europe, never really took hold in the United States. Americans preferred to buy individual views and prints which were produced in huge numbers, but not

• Publisher: William Birch
• Year: 1809
• Binding: unknown

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