New York New York: As a place and a feeling
- by Bruce E. McKinney
An intensely focused collection of unusual and rare engravings and lithographs of New York, the property of the Downtown Club near Wall Street, will be sold at Arader Galleries on Sunday April 25th. These examples range from iconic to obscure. Altogether 234 lots will be sold. For they whose collecting focus is New York this is a rare opportunity.
Russell Shorto, the acclaimed author, called New York City, the island at the center of the world, in his 2004 recounting of the remarkable history of Manhattan. The Downtown Club’s collection of images of New York, put together over decades, so too sought to celebrate and remember the unique role of this place by display of their curated collection of mapped details while always believing local images, at their best, have always conveyed the place’s infused magic. As this collection is dispersed on the 25th collectors will appreciate the collection’s logic and find myriad examples for acquisition.
As a collection in public rooms the material has a range of condition and rarity, of high points and obscurities that will reward the knowledgeable. As well, a close reading of the catalogue will be worthwhile.
Many of the items find no auction history.
The estimates provide wide ranges. No one will find their pockets picked. More likely, prices of the rarest, best and most obscure will run to many multiples of the unusually low starting prices.
Some portion of the auction proceeds will benefit the collecting resources of Brenau University in Georgia.
Time, Place and Terms
Saturday, April 25th – 1pm EST
Selected works will be available to view at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10075. Phone: +1 212-628-7625
Arader Galleries charge a 20% Buyer’s Premium on all purchases at auction in person, by telephone, and absentee.
All artwork will be hand delivered within a 50 miles radius of 1016 Madison Avenue, N.Y., N.Y.
Live Auctioneers, the online auction website, will charge the same 20% Buyer’s Premium.
Condition reports are available.
Please note that winning bidders may return items, for any reason, for 60 days after the sale.
Here is a selection lots in the sale:
- Lot 0004 Details
DESCRIPTION
BACHMANN, John (1814-1896).
Panorama of New York and Vicinity.
Lithograph with original hand color by J, Bien.
New York: Bachmann, 1866.
26 3/4" x 39 1/2" sheet, 38" x 51" framed.
A fascinating view of Manhattan with Hoboken in the foreground looking south towards New York Harbor. This work is well known for depicting two different types of baseball games (NY & MA) that were played at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Provenance: Down Town Association of New York.
Estimated Value $9,000-$14,000
Opening Bid: $3,000
- Lot 0005 Details
DESCRIPTION
BACHMANN, John (1814-1896).
New-York.
Lithograph with original hand color.
New York: Willaims and Stevens, 1850 (Second Issue).
21 3/4" x 30 1/4" sheet.
Comparable: Dorothy Sloan, 2009 - $12,000 (First Issue).
Among the Finest American views of New York City from high above Union Square, looking south to the Battery and harbor.
Laid down on board with the the publsihing line gone underneath and light framing lines.
"Drawn from Nature and on Stone by C. Bachman. | Entered according acct [sic] of Congress in the year 1850. By Williams and Stevens in the Clerks office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. | Lith. of Sarony & Major 117 Fulton St. N.Y. New York. Provenance: Down Town Association of New York.
Provenance: Down Town Association of New York.
Estimated Value $9,000-$14,000
Opening Bid: $3,500
- Lot 0008 Details
DESCRIPTION
BENNETT, William, J. (1787-1844).
"A Brisk Gale", Bay of New York.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
New York: Geo. E. Perins, 1867
19" x 25" sheet, 29 1/2" x 36" framed.
RARE. Not seen in auction since 1922. (Rarebookhub -- Anderson Galleries).
Provenance: Down Town Association of New York.
Estimated Value $15,000-$25,000
Opening Bid: $7,000
- Lot 0124 Details
DESCRIPTION
HART, Charles (Late 19th C.), after HAWLEY, Hughson (1850-1936).
The New York Stock Exchange.
Lithograph with original hand color.
New York: Hart, 1882.
30 1/2" x 21 1/2" sheet.
Comparable: Christie's, 2015 - $1,875.
Likely published as a promotional piece following renovations to the Exchange. Not listed in Stokes, Iconography. (Peters, America on Stone, p. 205).
Provenance: Down Town Association of New York
Estimated Value $3,000-$5,000
Opening Bid: $1,000
- Lot 0131 Details
DESCRIPTION
HILL, John (1770-1850), after HORNOR, Thomas (1785-1844).
Broadway, New-York, Showing each building from the Hygeian Depot corner of Canal Street Niblo's Garden.
Aquatint with original hand color.
New York: Joseph Stanley & Co., 1836.
22" x 30 1/2" visible, 29" x 37 3/4" framed.
Last seen at Auction in 1920 (Rarebookhub).
Estimated Value $4,000-$6,000
Opening Bid: $1,200
- Lot 0134 Details
DESCRIPTION
HILL, J. W. (1812-1879), engraved by MOTTRAM, C. (1807-1876).
New York (Proof).
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
New York: F. & G. W. Smith, 1855. (Third state of three).
33" x 53" sheet, 44" x 63" framed.
Comparable: Doyle New York, 2018 - $1,500; Swann Galleries, 2017 - $875
This expansive view, one of largest of New York ever produced, depicts the city from across the East River in Brooklyn. The work shows the busy life of the New York's waterways through the dozens of ships visible in the foreground and up the Hudson.
Estimated Value $4,000-$8,000
Opening Bid: $1,000
- Lot 0143 Details
DESCRIPTION
JAQUES and Bros. (Mid-19th Century).
Castle Garden Schottisch.
Lithograph with original hand color.
New York, 1852.
10 1/4" x 12 3/4" visible, 15" x 17 3/4" framed.
RARE. Last auction record in 1924 (Rarebookhub). View showing the Castle Garden and Battery.
Estimated Value $800-$1,200
Opening Bid: $100
- Lot 0152 Details
DESCRIPTION
MARTEL, Pierre (19th Century).
Martel's New York Central Park: respectfully dedicated to the park commissioners.
Tinted lithograph with original hand color.
New York: Central Park Publishing Co., 1864.
28" x 41" sheet.
Birds-eye view of the park from the junction of 59th st. and 5th Ave., printed six years after work on the park began.
Provenance: Down Town Association of New York.
Estimated Value $4,000-$8,000
Opening Bid: $1,200
- Lot 0153 Details
DESCRIPTION
after MAYER, Fritz (active 1850-80).
Prospect Park / view from the Reservoir looking west. & Prospect Park / view from the Reservoir looking east.
Tinted lithograph.
Endicott & Co., 1860.
8 3/4" x 16" visible (each), 24 1/2" x 22 1/2" framed.
VERY RARE. No known auction records; only other example found in the MET collection.
Estimated Value $5,000-$10,000
Opening Bid: $1,800
- Lot 0164 Details
DESCRIPTION
PAPPRILL, Henry (1816-1903), after sketch by CATHERWOOD, Frederick (1799-1854).
New York Taken from the Northwest Angle of Fort Columbus, Governor's Island.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
Henry I. Megeary, New York: 1846.
20 1/4" x 29 1/4" sheet, 32" x 41" framed.
Comparables: Guernseys, 2012 - $10,000-12,000 - not sold. Otherwise not seen in auction since 1920 (Rarebookhub).
Estimated Value $8,000-$14,000
Opening Bid: $2,000
- Lot 0172 Details
DESCRIPTION
PARSONS, Charles (1821-1910). & ATWATER, Lyman (1835-1891).
The Port of New York / Bird's Eye View from the Battery Looking South.
Chromolithograph.
New York: Currier & Ives, 1872.
27 3/4" x 39 1/2" sheet, 40" x 51" framed.
Dramatic birds eye view of the port of New York. Included below the title is a list of fifty-seven references to sites of interest. At the center of the image is Castle Garden, originally an island and cultural hub with a world-famous theater.
Estimated Value $10,000-$20,000
Opening Bid: $2,500
- Lot 0200 Details
DESCRIPTION
SEYMOUR, Samuel (active 1797-1823), after BIRCH, William (1755-1834).
The City of New York in the State of New York, North America.
Engraving with original hand color printed by William H. Morgan, Philadelphia (3rd State).
Published by Willam R. Birch in Spingland, near Bristol, PA, 1803.
22 1/2" x 27 1/2" sheet, 32" x 38" framed.
Comparables: Arader Galleries, 2017, $15000-20000, not sold.
"This rendering of New York from across the East River is a companion to William Birch's view of Philadelphia ... and was issued by the artist to arouse interest in a projected series of views of New York, which never appeared.” (Stokes I, plate 77, pp.468-469).
Estimated Value $15,000-$30,000
Opening Bid: $2,500
- Lot 0212 Details
DESCRIPTION
VALENTINE, David Thomas (1801-1869).
Broadway, Both Sides, From Battery Place to the Tin Pot Alley, (Now Exchange Alley,) in 1848.
Lithograph
New York: Valentine, c. 1848.
12 1/2" x 43 1/2" sheet.
A charming view of either side of Broadway, from Battery Place to Exchange Alley (Tin Pot Alley at the time), in lower Manhattan. Includes beautiful depiction of Castle Garden (later known as Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton) in modern day Battery Park, which over the years served as promenade, exhibition hall, opera house, theater, New York City Aquarium, and perhaps most famously, as America's first immigration station (before Ellis Island).
Estimated Value $1,500-$3,000
Opening Bid: $350
- Lot 0224 Details
DESCRIPTION
WELLSTOOD, William (1819-1900), after SMITH, Benjamin Franklin (1830-1927).
New York, 1855 / From the Latting Observatory.
Engraving with original hand color.
New York: Smith & Fern Co., 1855.
35" x 48" sheet, 48" x 62" framed.
Comparable: Christie's, 2015 - $8,750.
Large birds-eye view of New York City looking south, showing Brooklyn in the distance. Build for the 1853 Worlds Fair, the Latting Observatory was the tallest structure in New York at that time. In the foreground is Crystal Palace and the Croton Reservoir. Art and the Empire City 143.
Estimated Value $10,000-$20,000
Opening Bid: $3,000
Here are links:
Live Auctioneers to this sale
Arader Galleries:
Location: 1016 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10075
Tel: 212.628.7625
Contact by email: grahamarader@gmail.com