Birch's Views of Philadelphia
Birch's Views of Philadelphia was an 1800 book of prints drawn and engraved by William Russell Birch (1755–1834) and his son Thomas Birch (1779–1851). The 27 illustrations of the city are extraordinarily valuable to historians because they document Philadelphia architecture and street-life at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Formally titled The City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania North America; as it appeared in the Year 1800, the volume was self-published by William Birch in December 1800. Birch was a British-born miniature painter and engraver, and this became his most famous work. Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the United States when the Birches began the project in 1798. Thomas Jefferson, then Vice President of the United States, was among the 156 subscribers to the initial printing. Other subscribers included British Minister to the U.S. Robert Liston, Spanish Minister to the U.S. The Chevalier d'Yrujo, former Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Mifflin, New York City Mayor Richard Varick, architect Benjamin Latrobe, artist Edward Savage, and several members of Congress. The 1804 second edition listed former U.S. President John Adams as a subscriber. The views depict monuments, everyday life, and even reflect politics of the era. Plate 28 shows a technological