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Mapping the Health of Manhattan
Egbert Viele's New York City Water Map (Photomechanical Reproduction, c. 1900)
This item is a circa 1900 photomechanical reproduction of Egbert Viele's famous New York City water map, printed on drafting linen. It is inscribed in green ink: "Presented to Prof E.B. Lovell, by David H. Ray '01, Chief Engineer of Buildings, N.Y. City."
Egbert Viele's map was a groundbreaking color lithograph that showcased the original topography and hydrography of Manhattan overlaid on the mid-19th-century street grid. This innovative approach aimed to enhance New York City's sewer system and mitigate the risk of epidemics. Viele's methodology emerged from his firsthand experiences with a devastating outbreak at a military camp in Laredo, Texas, a few years after John Snow's influential map of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London.
I.N. Phelps Stokes, in The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909, noted that Viele's map was compiled from historical records and new surveys, particularly in undeveloped areas. The map's primary focus was to highlight pre-development watercourses and swamp land that persisted beneath the surface.
Provenance
E.B. Lovell was a Professor of Civil Engineering at Columbia in the early 20th century.
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