Boston Harbor View from Castle William, Hand-Colored Aquatint by Fumagalli, 1827
€ 880
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1827
Sheet size
24.5 × 34.3 cm (9.6 × 13.5 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14302-24
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition consistent with age. Light age toning, occasional minor foxing, and minor handling wear. Attractive original hand coloring. Plate mark visible. Please review all photographs carefully.
About this sheet
Boston seen across the harbor, an original hand-colored aquatint engraved by Paolo Fumagalli for Giulio Ferrario's Il Costume Antico e Moderno, plate 39, published in 1827. The plate number is engraved at the upper right and Fumagalli's name is lettered at the lower left.
The view looks over the water toward the long, low skyline of the town, where a row of church spires rises above the roofs and hills rise behind. In the foreground, on the near shore, stands a large pink and tan building with a flag flying beside it, identified in the previous text as Castle William, later Fort Independence, on Castle Island in the harbor. A few small sailing boats dot the calm water, and trees fill the lower left. The coloring is delicate: a pale yellow sky, green water and soft pink buildings, within a plate mark on wide margins.
Ferrario's multivolume survey of the costumes and customs of the world gave a small place to the United States, and this plate is an early Italian view of Boston.
