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<P>1850's Charles Magnus bird's eye view of Hamilton, Canada from hand colored scenes. Wonderful quality and detailed engravings.
Description
This detailed, hand-colored steel engraving of an American landscape was published by Charles Magnus & Co. in New York circa 1856. The engravings were trimmed and mounted to black mounting boards with elegant gold ruling to border and over printed title.
Julian Carl (Charles) Magnus (1826-1900) was born in Germany but emigrated to New York in 1848. He and his publishing firm printed many views and maps, especially of American locations. He also produced letter sheets, song sheets, envelopes, and separate prints. He also published material on the Civil War.
CharlesMagnus established himself as one of the era's most prolific publishers of cityviews, maps, and pictorial stationery. Working from his premises at 12Frankfort Street, he was a brilliant marketer who recognized that the growingmiddle class possessed an immense appetite for topographical imagery. Whilemonumental folios by artists like John Bachmann were priced for wealthysubscribers, Magnus sought to democratize these views. By scaling down theoriginal compositions and presenting them within elaborate printed borders thatsimulated high-end framing, he provided an accessible yet sophisticatedproduct. His Frankfort Street operation became a major clearinghouse for suchprints, which were issued as standalone decorative pieces and parlor albuminserts. A similar double view of Boston employing this exact format ispreserved in the Charles Magnus Collection at the Winterthur Museum
Paper Size ~ 11 1/2" by 8 1/2"
originally a hand-colored steel engraving
Magnus and the "Deluxe" Format
This view is a scarce example of Magnus's signature "deluxe" framing technique, designed to elevate the status of his prints.
Asnoted by the esteemedurban planning historian John W. Reps, Magnus created these distinctive presentations to mimic "an expensive glass-mounted print."[While some of these prints were produced on single sheets of paper with wide black margins printed directly onto the sheet, the present example reveals a fascinating aspect of Magnus's physical production process. The hand-colored view has been trimmed to the image and mounted onto a separate black card, with gold border and title.
The Frankfort Street Imprint
The imprint on the mount bears Magnus's address at 12 Frankfort Street, a location crucial to his early success in America. Magnus operated a thriving business from this address, producing not only city views but also maps, games, and, later, his famous Civil War patriotic envelopes.
Historical records indicate that his Frankfort Street premises suffered fire damage on July 15, 1856
Condition
Hand-colored print (likely a steel engraving) on19th-century paper, mounted on black card. Trimmed to image and mounted with the painted gold border onthe mount.
Description
This detailed, hand-colored steel engraving of an Americanlandscape was published The engravings were trimmed and mounted to black mount.He and his publishing firm printed many views and maps, especially of Americanlocations. He also produced letter sheets, song sheets, envelopes, and separateprints. He also published material on the Civil War.
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APS # 083032
