1873 Koch Bird's Eye View of Geneva, New York, Finger Lakes Region

Crossroads of the Finger Lakes.

This is Augustus Koch's 1873 bird's-eye view of Geneva, New York, on the banks of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes Region. It depicts the town at the peak of a railroad building boom on the eve of the financial Panic of 1873.

A Closer Look

Oriented towards the northwest, this view looks out over the town of Geneva with Seneca Lake in the foreground. Streets are labeled throughout, and individual buildings are illustrated, with notable buildings numbered and listed in an index at the bottom. These include churches, hotels, manufacturers, schools, and more. Hobart College, now Hobart and William Smith Colleges, is situated towards the bottom-left. A vignette view of the college also appears at the bottom-right, while a similar depiction of the Geneva Classical and Union School (closed in 1924) appears at the bottom-left.

This area was transformed earlier in the century with the opening of the Erie Canal and its connection to Seneca Lake via the Seneca River and Cayuga-Seneca Canal (here as 'Seneca Canal'). When connected, it became possible to transport people and goods to the Great Lakes region or New York City with ease. A variety of boats and ships can be seen on the canal and lake here, including canal barges and paddle steamers, and in one case, the latter towing a group of the former.

An Unrealized Railroad

The view includes three railroad lines, the N.Y. Central, the Geneva and Southwestern Railroad, and the Geneva and Ithaca Railroad. The former of these was among the greatest of all American railroad companies, but the latter two are quite obscure, largely because one of them was never actually built. In 1872, the Geneva and Southwestern Railroad was incorporated and secured a right-of-way to build a line linking Geneva and Naples, New York, about 30 miles to the southwest. The route was graded but never built, almost certainly due to the Panic of 1873. Twenty years later, the Middlesex Valley Railroad was formed and used the secured right-of-way to complete the line in 1894. In 1903, the Middlesex Valley Railroad was bought by the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

For its part, the Geneva and Ithaca Railroad was incorporated in 1870 and completed in 1873, just in time to avoid being scuppered by the Panic of 1873. But it was quickly forced to consolidate with the recently-built Ithaca and Athens Railroad, which had also been promptly bought by the Lehigh Valley Railroad, to form the Geneva, Ithaca and Athens Railroad.

American 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 highpoints. 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 artform, 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.

Publication History and Census

This view was drawn and published by Augustus Koch in 1873. It is rare and is cataloged only at the New York State Library. (A 20th-century reproduction is held by the University of Rochester, OCLC 54207218.) Minimal market history.

Cartographer

Augustus Koch (October 15, 1834 - 1901), active in the late 19th century, was one of the most prolific and widely traveled artists specializing in American city bird's-eye views. Koch was born in Birnbaum, Germany where, according to his superior officers in the Engineers Office of the Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War, he received an excellent education. Some have speculated that he may have immigrated to the United States young and been educated here, but this seems unlikely as he retained a very strong German accent throughout his life. Koch enlisted as a private in the Wisconsin regiment during the American Civil War. He applied and was approved for an officer's commission in 1863. He was assigned as engineering officer to one of the black regiments serving in the Lower Mississippi Valley. There is produced several maps including one of Vicksburg. Koch started producing bird's-eye views after the Civil War with his first published view, Cedar Falls, Iowa, appearing around 1868. Koch may have apprenticed with Albert Ruger, another important Wisconsin view maker, and it may have been Ruger who introduced him to Joseph Stoner, who published many of his most significant views. According to John W. Reps, in Views and Viewmakers of Urban America (Page185),

Koch drew his cities with considerable care, consistently depicting his subjects as if seen from very high viewpoints. The horizon lines appear close to the tops of the images, and the body of each print is thus full of urban detail. Koch also used a distinctive format, making his horizontal dimension not much greater than the vertical.

The date of Koch's death is unknown. His career saw the publication of some 110 views in at least 23 different states.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Grease stain in lower left corner effecting vignette but not central bird's-eye view.

References

Reps, John, Views and Viewmakers of Urban America (University of Missouri, Columbia, 1984), #2535. OCLC 228865012.