Boston [Harbour view].

Mottram, C.

Published by

London, Paul & Dominic Colnaghi, 1857 or later. A very large chromolithographed oblong broadside (89 x 111 cm). Printed surface 69 x 98 cm. = A fine engraving by Charles Mottram (1807-1876), after an original watercolour by John William Hill (1812-1879), Boston, Massachusetts, 1853. "In 2002, Leonard L. Millberg, Class of 1953, donated a group of drawings and watercolors to the Princeton University Art Museum and to the Graphic Arts Collection in Firestone Library. Among the twenty-three works were a pair by the American artist John William Hill (1812-1879), the son of the British aquatintist John Hill (1799-1836). The first work is a finished watercolor on a grand scale and the other, the steel engraving after that painting. Within the view of Boston and its harbor, we see the statehouse dome rising in the center background and the Bunker Hill Monument at far right. Although Hill painted Boston in 1853, it took four years before the engraving by Charles Mottram was published jointly between Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Company in London, Smith Brothers & Company in New York, and F. Delarue in Paris. Due to the enormous popularity of the print, at least one other impression was published by the firm of McQueen" (Princeton Alumni Weekly, describing a plain print). Indeed, this copy could be a restrike from the same plate, but the strength of the engraving suggests that it may not be a much later print. This is a London-published print sold by Smith Brothers in New York and Sowle & Wards in Boston, and it is beautifully coloured. Seller Inventory # 73367

Bibliographic Details

Title: Boston [Harbour view].