[Americana] [New York] Burgis, William (after). The South Prospect of the City of New York in America

(London, 1761). Engraved view. 7 1/4 x 21 1/4 in. (184 x 540 mm). From the London Magazine, 1761.

Scarce and attractive early view of lower Manhattan in New York City.

In 1716, William Burgis drew the waterfront along the east side of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights. His drawing showed the East River crowded with naval and commercial vessels, and a portion of the southeast side of Manhattan, including Fort George and Trinity Church. Burgis titled the drawing "A South Prospect of Ye Flourishing City of New York" and sent it to London, where John Harris engraved the image on four copper plates, creating a six-foot-wide panoramic view when printed. The print was first advertised for sale in America in 1721 in The American Weekly Mercury as "A Curious Prospect of the City of New-York", and was copied several times over the years, including by Thomas Bakewell in 1746. A new impression was engraved, as seen here, for the London Magazine, in 1761.

There are three known variants of the view, one of which was printed with separate copper plates. The present variant comes from the same plate as one other, lacking only the "Engrav'd for the London Magazine 1761" imprint at the top. The title differs from the third variant, which reads "New York in North America," rather than just "America," as here. There are some other subtle differences from the third variant, namely that many of the sailing ships in this edition do not show people onboard, whereas all the sailing ships in the other editions show people aboard the ships.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

[Americana] [New York] Burgis, William (after). The South Prospect of the City of New York in America

[Americana] [New York] Burgis, William (after). The South Prospect of the City of New York in America