(American Views) — Anonymous 19th-Century American Maritime Artist | Album of 17 drawings of American subjects

(American Views) — Anonymous 19th-Century American Maritime Artist

Album of 17 pen-and-ink, watercolor and wash drawings of American subjects (one of Canada), 8 in monochrome, 9 in colors, depicting thirteen landscapes in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Virginia, and Canada, three of ships, and one of a carriage. [New York?: circa 1816-1827]

Oblong folio (258 x 378 mm). Paper watermarked J. Whatman, 1814. Stitching at gutter a bit loose, some sheets slightly sprung. Calf-backed paper boards; worn. In a quarter morocco folding case.

An evocative and finely executed series of images of American landmarks of scenic, architectural, and technological import. Although the artist of these highly accomplished drawings has not been identified, they are of superb quality, rendered with the eye—and hand—of a trained draftsman. The views were not copied from published prints and have the lively vivacity of work done from life.

Subjects Comprise:

1) Quebec. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

2) South View of Boston. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

3) Natural Bridge Virginia. Pen-and-ink and sepia wash.

4) Citty [sic] Hall, New York. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

5) View of the Battery at New York from the North River. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

6) View of the Battery at New York from the East River. Pen-and ink and watercolor.

7) The Pilot Boat [T.H. Smith]. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

8) Falls of Niagara from Table Rock. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

9) Schooner. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

10) View of New York from Long Island. Pen-and-ink and watercolor

11) Steam boat Chancellor Livingston. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

12) View of Hurlgate [Hell's Gate] from the Rock in the East River. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

13) Boston Post Coach. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

14) Courtland Street Ferry [New York City]. Pen-and-ink and gray wash.

15) View of the Bridge across Schuylkill near Philadelphia. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

16) View of the Narrows of New York from Powlas Hook. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

17) View of New York from Powlas Hook. Pen-and-ink and watercolor.

This is a substantial early-19th-century American sketchbook belonging to a trained maritime draftsman with extensive firsthand familiarity with New York Harbor during the 1820s. The drawings include highly competent ship portraits—most notably Pilot Boat No. 6 bearing the banner “T.H. SMITH”, and a detailed rendering of the Hudson River steamboat Chancellor Livingston in its early configuration. Other views include Courtland Street Ferry House, Paulus Hook, Hell Gate, a panoramic View of New York from Long Island, and travel sketches from Boston, Philadelphia, Quebec, Niagara Falls, and Natural Bridge, Virginia.

Dating of the album can be reasonably estimated by the depiction of the steamboat Chancellor Livingston, a notable early American steamship, designed by Robert Fulton and launched in 1816. It was the final vessel Fulton designed before his death and was named for his business partner, Robert R. Livingston. It operated on major East Coast routes, including the Hudson River and Long Island Sound. During its 1827 refit, a third smokestack was added—a fixture not present in the watercolor. The album, therefore, was most likely executed between 1816 and 1827.

The hand displays professional-level knowledge of vessel rig, hull form, and harbor geography, characteristic of a New York pilot, pilot-boat apprentice, or naval/merchant-marine officer trained in topographical and marine draughtsmanship. The nuanced wash work and careful manuscript captions align with the Philadelphia-New York drawing tradition associated with John Rubens Smith, though the variable finish across the album suggests a working mariner rather than a studio artist.

The architectural subjects—including the Courtland Street Ferry House, Paulus Hook waterfront structures, Hell Gate dwellings, and urban elevations in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia—are drawn with the plain, accurate line characteristic of early-19th-century American topographical practice. The artist treats buildings as measured forms, emphasizing roof pitches, fenestration, and wharf structures with a draftsman’s clarity rather than a studio artist’s picturesque elaboration. This functional architectural competence is consistent with the training of naval midshipmen, merchant officers, or pilot-service apprentices, and strongly supports an attribution to an American maritime draftsman active in New York Harbor during the 1820s.

Taken together, the subjects and technique point convincingly to a New York-based American maritime draftsman possibly with a personal connection to Pilot T.H. Smith or the crew of Pilot Boat No. 6. Views proceeding from Quebec, Niagara, Philadelphia, Boston, New York Harbor, reflect the travel circuit of mariners, packet-boat officers, and coastal surveyors. The varying detail – from somewhat loose to sharply rendered – allows us to imagine the hand of their maker: a journeying mariner intent on recording dramatic instances of the landscape, architecture, and naval vessels he encountered.

A rare and cohesive surviving visual record of New York Harbor and East Coast travel in the early steamboat era, with significant documentary value for maritime and transportation history.