The City of New York

Nineteenth-century Americans were eager collectors of pictures of their country, with city views being exceedingly popular. The most dramatic vistas were aerial, or "bird's eye," scenes rendered from an elevated vantage point -- from a hilltop, steeple, hot-air balloon, or even an imaginary height -- because such images permitted a detailed glimpse of landmarks in the foreground as well as in the distance. In this panoramic aerial view looking north, a densely built Manhattan is seen from high above New York Harbor. Clearly visible at the tip is the round Castle Garden next to a spacious Battery Park. Numerous tall ships are moored at the wharves lining Manhattan's waterfront along the Hudson and East Rivers; numerous other marine vessels travel along the waterways. At the lower right, the Brooklyn waterfront and its warehouses are depicted. In the right middledground, a large East River Bridge (later called Brooklyn Bridge; it is shown here years before it was completed) connects Brooklyn and Manhattan. At the left of the image, the ports and towns of Jersey City and Hoboken (New Jersey) are shown. Imprinted in the lower margin is a key identifying forty sites of interest, including Bowling Green, Trinity Church, St. Paul's Church, City Hall, the Beekman Street Shot Tower, the Staten Island and Fulton ferries, and the Palisades (upper left in the distance).

Nathaniel Currier, who established a successful New York-based lithography firm in 1835, produced thousands of prints in various sizes that together create a vivid panorama of mid-to-late nineteenth century American life. As the firm expanded, Nathaniel included his younger brother Charles in the business. In 1857, James Merritt Ives (the firm's accountant since 1852 and Charles's brother-in-law) was made a business partner; subsequently renamed Currier & Ives, the firm continued until 1907. People eagerly acquired Currier & Ives lithographs of rural and city views, hunting and fishing scenes, domestic life and numerous other subjects, as an inexpensive way to decorate their homes or business establishments.