Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Castellated Walls, Penn Vignettes, circa 1850

About this sheet

This is an original antique steel engraving, uncolored, lettered "PENITENTIARY, PHILADELPHIA." The view runs along a long, high masonry wall pierced by narrow slit windows, ending at the right in a tall, square corner tower with battlements and a pointed window. Further along the wall rise more crenellated towers and a castellated block. On the road at the foot of the wall a man leads a horse and cart, a couple walks with a dog, a woman carries a basket, and two small figures stand on a ledge of the wall at the left. In the foreground a fenced embankment slopes down to a meadow with poplars and other trees at the left.

Above the view a small uncaptioned emblem shows open books, a scroll, quills in an inkpot, a staff and a string of beads. Each lower vignette is crowned by a seated figure on the leafy border. At the lower left, below a seated Native American man with a spear, men in wigs confer over papers at a table before a clock, lettered "PENN DISPUTING WITH LORD BALTIMORE CONCERNING THE PROPRIETORSHIP OF DELAWARE. 1682." At the lower right, below a seated young man in a hat holding a gun, a crowd greets a new arrival on a quay with ships, lettered "PENN REVISITS THE COLONY. 1699." No artist or engraver is credited. The imprint reads "J. & F. TALLIS, LONDON & NEW YORK."

It comes from Hinton's History of the United States of America, published by J. and F. Tallis about 1850. John Howard Hinton (1791 to 1873) was an English Baptist minister and author, and J. and F. Tallis were London publishers of illustrated works sold in parts around the middle of the nineteenth century. Each plate of the edition pairs a central view with an engraved border carrying small lettered scenes from American history. The sheet names only a penitentiary at Philadelphia; William Penn was the founder of the colony of Pennsylvania.

An unusual architectural subject with strong lines that reads well framed.

Condition: Complete sheet, edges straight and without nicks. Even age toning, soiled along the bottom, left and right edges. Foxing and several larger brown spots across much of the margin.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.