City Views

Introduction

Between 1798 and 1800 William Birch, in collaboration with his son Thomas (1779-1851), produced twenty-seven views of Philadelphia for a project originally entitled Philadelphia Dissected or the Metropolis of America. Sold by subscription and as separate prints, these images achieved great success as America’s first view book and were issued as The City of Philadelphia in four separate editions (1800, 1804, 1809, and 1828) over the next quarter century. From churches and governmental buildings to residences and street scenes, the engravings captured the vibrancy of the city.

Printed four column list of names and addresses

Subscribers to Birch’s Views of Philadelphia, 1800. Library Company of Philadelphia.

More than 150 people subscribed to the first edition of The City of Philadelphia and not surprisingly most were city residents. Merchants made up nearly half of the subscribers, while physicians, tradesmen, “gentlemen,” and government officials, among others, also purchased the views. William Barker, an engraver, Richard Folwell, a printer, and Jesse Oat, a coppersmith, who all worked with Birch on the views supported the project by purchasing subscriptions. Birch, however, failed to convince the Library Company to acquire one.

Waist-length oval profile portrait of man with long gray hair wearing dark suit and spectacles

Attributed to William Birch, Edward Pennington, ca. 1800.Watercolor. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Gift of Bruce Gimelson.

Edward Pennington (1766-1834), proprietor of a Philadelphia sugar refinery, was one of the many merchants who subscribed to The City of Philadelphia.

Waist-length oval portrait of curly-haired white woman wearing large feathered hat. Her name appears in manuscript at image bottom.

David Edwin, Ann Brunton Merry Wignell Warren (Philadelphia, ca. 1805).Engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia. McAllister Collection.

Famed British actress Ann Brunton Merry (1769-1808) was one of only two female subscribers to The City of Philadelphia. She had moved to Philadelphia in 1796 after accepting an offer to perform at the Chestnut Street Theater, a building featured in one of Birch’s views.
Bust-length portrait of white man wearing high-collared shirt and suit jacket.

After Gilbert Stuart, Th. Jefferson (Philadelphia: Childs & Inman, ca. 1833). Lithograph. Library Company of Philadelphia. McAllister Collection.

Birch recalled in his autobiography that Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) kept a copy of the City of Philadelphia close at hand throughout his presidency. “It layed [sic] on the sophia [sofa] in his Visiting Room at Washington til it became ragged and dirty, but was not suffered to be taken away,” wrote Birch.
Printed page with many lines of text.

Philadelphia and New York. (Philadelphia, ca. 1800). Broadside. Library Company of Philadelphia.
Here William Birch announces his intention of publishing a set of engraved views of both New York City and Philadelphia, projects in varying stages of completion in 1800. To increase interest in the sets, he published a larger engraving representing each city “intended as elegant furniture for a drawing or setting room, which will serve as references for amusement to the two volumes.”

White horse grazes under mostly leafless tree in foreground. Cityscape visible in background beyond water filled with sailing ships.

Samuel Seymour after William Birch, The City of New York in the State of New York, North America. (Springland, near Bristol, Pennsylvania: W. Birch, 1803). Hand-colored engraving. First state. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Four figures with picnic basket relax under mostly leafless tree in foreground. Cityscape visible in background beyond water filled with sailing ships.

Samuel Seymour after William Birch, The City of New York in the State of New York, North America. (Springland, near Bristol, Pennsylvania: W. Birch, 1803). Hand-colored engraving. Second state. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Despite his stated intentions, William Birch never published a set of New York City views. “I had nearly completed a sett of Drawings of that City which I me[a]nt to publish as a companion Vollum to the Philadelphia,” he wrote, “but found the profits of the undertaking was not equal to the expence [sic] of travelling and the support of my family.” However, three different states of this view of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn were created. In the second and third states, Birch has wisely replaced the dying trees seen in the first state with lush green foliage. The greenery frames the city view in the distance and a picnic party has been substituted for the solitary white horse, producing a much more animated and engaging image.

Under shade of large tree, white men wielding tools work along water's edge in left foreground while white men and women relax in right foreground. Cityscape visible in background.

Samuel Seymour after Thomas Birch, The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania, North America (Neshaminy near Bristol, Pennsylvania: Wm. Birch, 1801). Hand-colored engraving. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

This print, very similar to the frontispiece for The City of Philadelphia view book, portrayed the city as a commercially vibrant center while also paying homage to its historical past. The prominently featured treaty tree, the supposed location of William Penn’s meeting with the local Lenni Lenape blew down within a decade.
Busy urban scene with pedestrians and horses on street in front of numerous large buildings. Horse with its backside to the viewer is at center.

William or Thomas Birch, Preparatory sketch for Second Street North from Market St. wth. Christ Church. Philadelphia, ca. 1800. Watercolor. Library Company of Philadelphia. Bequest of Charles A. Poulson.
Busy urban scene. White and black pedestrians, some carrying baskets, and horses, some pulling wagons, travel on street in front of numerous large buildings. Horse with its backside to the viewer is at center. William Birch, Second Street North from Market St. wth. Christ Church. Philadelphia (Philadelphia: W. Birch, 1827-1828). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

Although this print’s title draws the viewer’s attention to the venerable Christ Church and its tall steeple, the Old Courthouse and market at the left and the bustle of activity around it dominates the scene.

Two story red brick residence under construction. Men and women pedestrians walk around nearby grounds, including man carrying a ladder.

William or Thomas Birch, Preparatory sketch for An Unfinished House, in Chestnut Street Philadelphia, ca. 1800. Watercolor and ink. Library Company of Philadelphia. Bequest of Charles A. Poulson.
Two story red brick residence under construction. Men and women pedestrians walk around nearby grounds, including man carrying a ladder.

William and Thomas Birch, An Unfinished House, in Chestnut Street Philadelphia, (Philadelphia: W. Birch & Son, 1800). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

For subscribers not familiar with Philadelphia, Birch’s ambiguous title, “an unfinished house,” could mean that this impressive edifice was under construction and would soon be a showcase of American style and wealth. In reality, the residence’s owner, financier Robert Morris (1734-1806) was in debtors’ prison and the house, located near Eighth Street, would soon be demolished with the building’s materials used to pay off Morris’s creditors. William Birch purchased two bas- reliefs from the house for use in his own residence Springland. Restrikes from the original printing plate were issued as late as 1860.
Printed text from newspaper

Advertisement for Birch’s Views of Philadelphia from Porcupine’s Gazette (Philadelphia, June 1, 1799.) Library Company of Philadelphia.

Metal plate with engraved image of classical-style building

Six-columned classical style building surrounded by fence. Male pedestrians and two dogs gather outside the building.

Urban street scene including six-columned classical style building and several others. Mostly male pedestrians are on sidewalk, including man pushing wheelbarrow

Copper printing plate for Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia, 1804. Library Company of Philadelphia.

W. Birch & Son, Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia (Philadelphia, ca. 1860 restrike of 1804 plate). Engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

William Birch, Bank of Pennsylvania, South Second Street Philadelphia (Philadelphia: W. Birch, 1800). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

Birch created a new plate of this scene for the second edition of The City of Philadelphia published in 1804. The bank no longer shares the streetscape with the neighboring City Tavern. Focusing on the bank, recently completed in 1801 after the designs of Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), allowed Birch to more accurately depict the architectural features of this important Greek Revival style building.

Under green leafed trees, white men, women, and children stroll and lounge on grass. Space enclosed by tall brick fence and fence entrance doors stand open

Under green leafed trees, white men, women, and children stroll and lounge on grass. Space enclosed by tall brick fence and fence entrance doors stand open

William or Thomas Birch, Preparatory sketch for State-House Garden, Philadelphia, ca. 1798. Watercolor and ink. Library Company of Philadelphia. Bequest of Charles A. Poulson.

W. Birch & Son, State-House Garden, Philadelphia. (Philadelphia: R. Campbell & Co., 1798). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

Four of Birch’s city views depict the buildings or grounds where federal, state, and local governmental power resided during the 1790s. Fewer people and dogs appear in this engraving than the watercolor, but the gardens are still presented as an appealing green space attracting well-dressed men, women, and children, and one romping canine.

White man gestures with his arm while leading group of Indigenous people along urban sidewalk

White man gestures with his arm while leading group of Indigenous people along sidewalk. Horse-drawn wagons and other pedestrians pass by large buildings including a church

William or Thomas Birch, Preparatory sketch for New Lutheran Church, in Fourth Street Philadelphia, ca. 1800. Watercolor. Library Company of Philadelphia.

William Birch, New Lutheran Church, in Fourth Street Philadelphia ([Philadelphia]: W. Birch, [1804]). Engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

Birch’s city views embodied not only “the most general idea of the town,” but also represented specific moments. This one captures Indigenous men being given a tour by a guide, sometimes identified as minister and politician Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg (1750-1801), who points out the Lutheran Church, recently rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1794.The City of Philadelphia also included a view of the original Lutheran Church a block away.

Monochromatic loose rendering of two large buildings behind fence. People and horse and wagon in foreground

Two large buildings stand behind fence. In foreground three men gather around pig in the road next to horse-drawn wagon carrying other pigs

William or Thomas Birch, Preparatory sketch for Alms House in Spruce Street Philadelphia, ca. 1799. Watercolor. Library Company of Philadelphia.

W. Birch & Son, Alms House in Spruce Street Philadelphia (Philadelphia: W. Birch & Son, 1799). Engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

Even in this most preliminary of sketches, all of the elements for the final print are in place, from the recalcitrant pig to the two large institutional buildings behind the high wall. Oddly, the House of Employment, the more prominent of the two buildings depicted, is not mentioned in the engraving’s title. With the exception of the waterworks at Centre Square, this site between Tenth and Eleventh streets is the most western view of the city rendered by Birch.

Busy waterfront scene with black and white workers moving packages and barrels. Large ship is docked at wharf

Impressionistic view of large sailing ship flying an American flag pulled up to dock filled with buildings and people

William Birch, Arch Street Ferry, Philadelphia (Springland near Bristol, Pennsylvania: W. Birch, 1800). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

William Birch, Arch Street Ferry, March 1801. Watercolor on ivory. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Bequest of Constance A. Jones.

As can be seen in the Bank of Pennsylvania print, Birch sometimes returned to the same scene to alter his original depiction. Birch may have gone back to the bustling dock area intending to modify his original engraving for the second edition of The City of Philadelphia (1804). Ultimately, he decided to include the original image.

Group of Indigenous men, white men, women, and children stroll and lounge in grassy area adjacent to large brick building that includes a clock tower

Four story brick building dominates urban street corner. Men and women, black and white, congregate on street buying and selling wares

Two brick buildings dominate smaller frame buildings along sidewalk. White male pedestrians walk along sidewalk and horse drawn wagon is in street om foreground

Procession of men and black-draped horse-drawn wagon move down urban street. Onlookers observe from building windows and at street level through archway in foreground

William Birch, Back of the State House, Philadelphia (Philadelphia: W. Birch, 1827-1828). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

W. Birch & Son, South East Corner of Third, and Market Streets, Philadelphia (Philadelphia: W. Birch & Son, 1799). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

William Birch, Library and Surgeons Hall, in Fifth Street Philadelphia (Philadelphia: William Birch, 1800). Hand-colored engraving. Private Collection.

William Birch, High Street, from the Country Marketplace Philadelphia (Philadelphia: W. Birch, 1804). Hand-colored engraving. Library Company of Philadelphia.

One of the most notable features of Birch’s city views is their lively depiction of many different kinds of street life. Here we see a delegation of Indigenous people visiting Independence Hall (which then had a temporary replacement steeple); vendors hawking their wares in front of a the city’s most opulent commercial building; George Washington funeral procession passing by the shed of the country market; and beggars accosting a man right in front of the Library Company.