Views in Philadelphia and Its Environs

by CHILDS, Cephas G.

$7,500 · Offered by Biblio

1827. CHILDS, Cephas G. Views in Philadelphia and Its Environs, from Original Drawings Taken in 1827-30. Philadelphia: C. G. Childs, 1827[-1830]. 6 parts, imperial 8vo (11 x 7 1/2 inches). Part 6 includes additional engraved title page and 3pp. list of subscribers. Steel-engraved plates by Childs, J. Cone, J.W. Steel, W.E. Tucker, G. Fairman, and W.H. Hay, after Thomas Doughty, Thomas Birch, George Strickland, J.R. Watson, W. Mason and E.W. Clay. Orig. printed wrappers. Housed in custom red cloth clamshell box with green morocco label on front. Light scattered foxing, some staining to wrappers on parts 3, 4 and 5, else very good. Howes C-383, "aa." Not in Sabin. Martin P. Snyder, Mirror of America, pp.70-77 (giving a complete collation of the parts). Very rare in parts, with excellent engraved views that are "crystalline yet in almost every case warm and appealing" (Snyder). Parts Five and Six are especially rare, as Childs had moved shop twice, once after Part Four and once after Part Five. Part Six includes the additional engraved title page promised on the inserted slip found in Part I, as well as a three page list of subscribers which includes members of many notable Philadelphian families as well as the major cultural institutions of the city, such as the Library Company and the Historical Society (who also received proof copies). One of the nicest series of city views produced in the 19th century, and extremely rare in the original parts. Issued to subscribers between N

• Year: 1827
• Binding: unknown

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