Willard, Solomon. Plans and Sections, of the Obelisk on Bunker's Hill. Boston, 1843

WILLARD, SOLOMON

PLANS AND SECTIONS, OF THE OBELISK ON BUNKER'S HILL. WITH THE DETAILS OF EXPERIMENTS MADE IN QUARRYING THE GRANITE. BOSTON: FOR THE AUTHOR, 1843

Folio (13 3/8 x 10 1/8 in.; 340 x 256 mm). Lithographed title, 14 lithographed plates (one folding) by Charles Cook's Lithography; plate 14 browned, scattered foxing, some dampstaining on final leaves. Original quarter cloth, paper over boards, printed label on upper cover; some wear, paper rubbed away at extremities of boards, light pencil scrawl on upper cover, dampstaining to lower cover.

First and only edition. Solomon Willard, sculptor and architect, designed and built the Bunker Hill monument, the first public obelisk in the United States. He discovered and developed the granite quarry in Quincy, Massachusetts, which not only provided stone for the monument, but also for Willard's many other building projects which ranged from Boston to New Orleans. The first real railroad in the country was built to transport stones from the quarry in Quincy to the waterfront, where they were taken by boat to Charlestown and hauled up to the building site. 

LITERATURE:

American Imprints 43-5291; Hitchcock 1409