1872 Harper's Bird's-Eye View of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is an 1872 Harper's Weekly bird's-eye view of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published nine days after Philadelphia hosted the 1872 Republican National Convention. This view looks west on Philadephia from a high point across the Delaware River. It was issued to supplement reporting on the nomination of President Ulysses S. Grant for a second term. The Convention was held at the Academy of Music, here situated slightly above and to the left of center, apparent from the conventioneers milling outside.

A Closer Look

Numerous buildings apart from the Academy of Music are identified throughout. In the Delaware River, in the foreground, ships of all sizes ply the waters, emphasizing Philadelphia's commercial prosperity. Two railroad stations, the alms house, and other buildings are included across the Schuylkill River.

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. While before the rise of lithography, the ability to own and display artwork in the home was largely limited to the extremely wealthy, 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 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.

Publication History and Census

This view was created for and published by Harper and Brothers in the scarce supplement to the June 15, 1872, edition of Harpers's Weekly.