Birch's Views of Philadelphia

In 1794, William Russell Birch (1755-1834), an English enamel painter and engraver, emigrated to Philadelphia, then the national capital and centre of culture and commerce. Inspired by its prosperity and beauty, he conceived a series of twenty-seven engravings that captured its vibrant street life and busy ports. Prized by collectors and historians alike, as an eighteenth century record of an American city, Birch's Views is incomparable. Architectural historian S. Robert Teitelman has brought the views up-to-date by including facing-page photographs recording each site in 1960 and 2000, complete with notes and a modern map. Although many handsome perspectives of the city in Birch's Views have disappeared through generations of development, significant structures remain. Teitelman's photographs provide a fascinating record of Philadelphia's renewed growth and vitality between 1960 and 2000, adding a further dimension to William Birch's earlier visual record. This edition makes a true collector's item available to all lovers of early Americana and the city of Philadelphia.