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This 1864 color lithograph, American Petroleum, offers a vivid portrayal of the early oil industry in the United States, set against a bucolic 19th-century landscape of the Tarr Farm, Oil Creek, Pennsylvania. Published by Wm. Hall & Son in New York and based on a photograph by Wm. Clarke & Co., the print attests to the burgeoning oil industry, a key driver of America's industrial growth.
The illustration serves as a testament to the industry's infancy, featuring derricks, oil wells, and the pastoral setting that was soon to be transformed by the energy demands of a growing nation. The print, with its two insets proclaiming the prowess of oil wells, one throwing pure oil 100 feet high and the other boasting an impressive output of 355 barrels daily, captures the early optimism and the transformative promise of petroleum extraction.
In the broader historical context, this visual artifact coincides with the period shortly after Edwin Drake's successful drilling of the first oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859, which sparked the first U.S. oil boom. The scene is indicative of the rapid technological and social changes that were propelling the United States into the forefront of industrial nations. It reflects the entrepreneurial spirit and the industrial advancements of the era, showcasing the mechanisms of extraction and the industry's scale, which were remarkable at the time.
Finally, the detailed rendering of the machinery, people, and environment provides an educative glimpse into the working conditions and technologies of the period. The juxtaposition of the pastoral and industrial elements in the image captures the early stages of a profound shift in the American landscape and economy. It is an illustrative record of the oil industry's ascendancy and its indelible impact on the nation's history and development.
The sheet was lithographed by Henry C. Eno.
![[Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia] Observations sur la Virginie [with the map:] A Map of the country between Albemarle Sound, and Lake Erie, comprehending the whole of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pensylvania, with parts of several other of the United States of America. Engraved for the Notes on Virginia.](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/51828.jpg)
