BIRCH, William R. (1755-1834); Thomas BIRCH (1779-1851)
The Water Works, in Centre Square Philadelphia
Pennsylvania: W. Birch, Springland Cot, near Neshaminy Bridge on the Bristol Road, c. 1800. Hand-coloured copper engraving on laid paper. Sheet size: 14 x 17 inches.
Plate 28 from the very rare first American colour-plate book, with views that are "uniquely valuable among American historical prints" (Martin Snyder).
Birch's view presents the building as a polished emblem of urban order. Figures stroll in the foreground, a child plays with a hoop, and carriages move along the tree-lined square. The image records a transitional moment in Philadelphia's history, when the former national capital was presenting itself through architecture, public health, technology, and urban improvement. The subject of this plate is the Centre Square Water Works, built in 1799-1801 after designs by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Its prominent circular upper stage, classical portico, and wooded public setting made the pump house both an engineering structure and a civic ornament. The building stood at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets, on the site now occupied by Philadelphia City Hall, and was demolished in 1827-28. The Water Works formed part of Philadelphia's first municipal water supply. The city engaged Latrobe to design a system that used steam engines and elevated tanks at Centre Square to supply water through the city. This plate is taken from the first and one of the most important of all American color plate books, the first book to be entirely produced and published in the United States. William Russell Birch, who conceived this splendid celebration of the city of Philadelphia, then the largest city in the United States, was a native of England. When he arrived in America in 1794, he brought with him a strong academic training in art which he used to found an engraving firm. Birch hoped that his carefully planned and executed portfolio would serve as an advertisement "by which an idea of the improvements of the country could be conveyed to Europe, to promote and encourage settlers to the establishment of trade and commerce."
Martin P. Snyder, "William Birch: His Philadelphia Views," in Pennsylvania Magazine of History, Vol. 73, No. 3, July 1949 (Snyder 28a).
Item #42950
Price: $1,500.00