1893 Norris Bird's-Eye View Map of Ipswich, Massachusetts

Colonial history and rugged New England beauty.

A striking 1893 bird's-eye view map of Ipswich, Massachusetts. The view captures Ipswich during its transition from a maritime center to an industrial hub focused on shoemaking and textiles. Other parts of Ipswich, such as Crane Beach and Castle Hill, illustrated here on the horizon, were beginning to emerge as elite enclaves for summer visitors. Ipswich remains a well-preserved historical town to this day, with many of the buildings illustrated here still standing.

A Closer Look

The view looks roughly northeast over Ipswich from a high point to the southwest. Ipswich River enters from the lower right corner and travels through the center of the map to join the sea on the far horizon. Streets are labeled in situ. Thirty-seven other locations are numbered and keyed in an index in the lower left. An inset in the lower right illustrates the 'North End of High Street'.

American Bird's-Eye City Views

The Bird's-Eye view industry 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, but 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 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 published by George Norris in 1893. It was almost certainly printed for Norris by the Albertype Company of Brooklyn, New York. It is rare, but we note examples at the Library of Congress, the Boston Public Library's Leventhal Collection, and New England Historical.

Cartographers

George E. Norris (September 29, 1855 – August 18, 1926) was an American hotelier, publisher, and bird's-eye view artist based in Brockton, Massachusetts during the latter part of the 19th century. Norris was born in Massachusetts, likely his lifelong hometown, Brockton. Norris began publishing views in partnership with Albert F. Poole (1853 - 1934), an established viewmaker who, at the time, was renting a house in Brockton from Norris' mother. His first views, most of which were signed by Poole, were published in 1883. In 1884, Norris partnered with Henry Wellge (1850 - 1917), publishing out of Brockton as Norris and Wellge, and later out of Milwaukee as Norris, Wellge and Co. Norris began drawing views independently around 1887. Most of these were initially printed in lithograph by Lucien Burleigh of Troy, New York. Around 1890, Norris switched printers and began using a more modern photomechanical technique, likely Albertype, a style of collotype printing. Although unattributed on any of Norris's post 1890 views, the pioneers of Albertyping in the United States were Adolph (1845 - 1938) and Herman L. Wittemann, who founded the Albertype Company in Brooklyn, New York in 1890 - corresponding perfectly to Norris' change in printers. In total, Norris produced about 135 individual city views. In 1897 he left the view business to open a hotel, the Hotel Norris, in Brockton. Meeting some success as a hotelier, in 1912 he also acquired the Hotel Grayson, also in Brockton. He ran this until his death of cerebral hemorrhage in 1926.   Further Details...

Albertype Company (1890 – 1952) was a Brooklyn, New York, based printer of postcards and views. It was founded by Adolph (1845 - 1938) and Herman L. Wittemann on the premise they could leverage a technological innovation in collotype process, the Albertype. Named after its Austrian inventor, Josef Albert (1825 - 1886), the technique is similar to collotype, but substitutes gel plates for lithographic stones, making the process considerably faster and cheaper. Amassing photographic negatives of towns and cities across the United States, the Albertype Company produced over 25,000 collotypes before its closure in 1952.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Right margin extended with no loss to print.

References

OCLC 62328378. New England Historical, Prints and Engravings Collection #GC002.02.033. Library of Congress, G3764.I6A3 1893.N6. G3764.I6A3 1893.N6. Boston Public Library, Leventhal Map Center, 06_01_002022.