An original ink and watercolor drawing of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, 1827; accompanied by a rare lithograph of religious buildings in New York City, 1829

B’nai Jeshurun, was established in 1825 by a group of Ashkenazic members of Congregation Shearith Israel (the only synagogue in New York City at the time) who seceded following a dispute about the distribution of communal honors. This exceedingly rare watercolor was created by A. J. (Alexander Jackson) Davis (1803-1892) in 1827, the year the members of B’nai Jeshurun moved into their first building on Elm street. Services were conducted there until 1859 when the congregation had grown large enough to make it necessary to build a new synagogue on Green Street. Early in his career, Davis made drawings of public buildings for reproduction in popular engraved views (as, for example, the accompanying lithograph in this lot). He went on to become one of the foremost draftsman and watercolorists of his day.