1878 Bailey and Hazen View of Lawrence, Massachusetts

A striking 1878 two-color chromolithograph bird's-eye view of Lawrence, Massachusetts, by Howard Heston Bailey and James Hazen. The view depicts Lawrence roughly 20 years after its founding. The rigid urban layout, spacious public common, and riverfront industry underscore that Lawrence was the first planned industrial city in the United States.

A Closer Look

The north-oriented view embraces Lawrence from Steven's Pond to the Merrimack River. Bailey's distinctive high-oblique perspective gives the view a notable map-like quality. The orientation and perspective focus attention on the bustling city's sprawling textile mill infrastructure laid out along the Merrimack River. Some 39 businesses are numbered and keyed to table below the view, including municipal buildings, schools, mills, the residences of noted individuals, and factories.

Lawrence: Textile City

Lawrence was named after Abbott Lawrence, a Boston financier. Lawrence chose the site as the manufacturing hub of the Essex Company, a major textile concern, due to the abundant waterpower provided by Bodwell Falls (at far left). The town incorporated by 1847 and within a decade transformed from a rural town to a major industrial center, driven by the Essex Company's large-scale manufacturing - depicted here along the riverfront. The city's mills attracted waves of European immigrants, including Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles, and Lebanese, enriching its cultural tapestry. Despite the industrial boom, mill workers contended with challenging conditions, leading to the pivotal Bread and Roses Strike of 1912 that spotlighted the need for labor reforms. By the century's end, Lawrence was not only an industrial powerhouse but also a testament to the resilience and aspirations of its diverse populace. The Lawrence textile industry began a sharp decline in the early 20th century due to economic shifts, aging infrastructure, and the Great Depression. Today most of the old mills have been repurposed as residential buildings, art spaces, offices, and mixed-use facilities.

American Bird's-Eye City Views

The tradition of the bird's-eye city view emerged in the United States in the middle part of the 19th century and coincided with the commercial development of lithographic printing. Before the rise of lithography, the ability to own and display artwork in the home was largely limited to the extremely wealthy, the advent of lithographic printing made it possible for everyone to own visually striking artwork. A robust trade developed in portraits of political leaders, allegorical and religious images, and city views.

City views were being produced in the United States as early as the 1830s, but the genre exploded after the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). Bridging the gap between maps and pictures, most 19th century American bird's-eye views presented cities to the public from high vantage points. Some were imagined, but others were drawn from hot-air balloons or nearby hills. The presentation, combining high elevation, commercial interest, and new printing technology, created a uniquely American art form, as described by historian Donald Karshan,

Some print connoisseurs believe that it was only with the advent of the full-blown city-view lithograph that American printmaking reached its first plateau of originality, making a historical contribution to the graphic arts. They cite the differences between the European city-view prints and the expansive American version that reflects a new land and a new attitude toward the land.

The vogue for bird's-eye city views lasted from about 1845 to 1920, during which period some 2,400 cities were thus portrayed, some multiple times. Although views were produced in many urban centers, the nexus of view production in the United States was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The major American viewmakers were Stoner, Wellge, Bailey, Fowler, Hill, Ruger, Koch, Burleigh, Norris, and Morse, among others.

Chromolithography

Chromolithography, sometimes called oleography, is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The process involved using multiple lithographic stones, one for each color, to yield a rich composite effect. Oftentimes, the process would start with a black basecoat upon which subsequent colors were layered. Some chromolithographs used 30 or more separate lithographic stones to achieve the desired product. Chromolithograph color could also be effectively blended for even more dramatic results. The process became extremely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it emerged as the dominant method of color printing. The vivid color chromolithography produced made it exceptionally effective for advertising and propaganda imagery.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn by Howard Heston Bailey and James Compton Hazen. It was published and printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Charles H. Vogt and Jacob Knauber. Reps notes examples at the Boston Public Library and the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum. We note additional examples at the University of Michigan Clements Library, the Huntington Library, and Massachusetts State Library. Scarce on the private market.