View

1793 · ref. 3843 — "One of the more important images of postcolonial Boston" The building now known as "the Old State House" at the head of State Street in downtown Boston stands on the site of the first Town House that was built in the 1650s and burned in 1711. Its successor building the State House housed both town and provincial officers and activities until 1742 at which time town personnel moved to a location in the newly constructed Faneuil Hall. Of this view Deák notes: "The view from Washington Street shows the rear of the structure flanked by eminent merchant houses. Fashionable residents tradesmen mounted pedestrians and a variety of horse-drawn vehicles animate the streets. We can look past the State House down State Street far off into the distance of the harbor. There numerous masts of ships can be detected towering above the town's buildings which are constructed close together and are of substantial proportions.What we have in this engraving is one of the more important images of postcolonial Boston showing it as a thriving independent seaport" p. 128. References: Lewis Guide to Engravings in American Magazines 1741-1810: pp. 11 49. Stokes & Haskell American Historical Prints: Early Views of American Cities etc.: B-109. Deák Picturing America: 194. Condition: Old fold lines some of which have been strengthened on the reverse; minor edge tears. Scattered spots of very light foxing. Overall a well-preserved and visually pleasing example. ICN 7755. From the July, 1793 issue of Massachusetts Magazine