![[ New York City ] Vue de la Nouvelle Yorck By Jacques Chéreau](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/84430.jpg)
|
||
|
|
|
|
Fascinating view of the waterfront and harbor in New York City, showing ship building, commerce and an idealized image of Manhattan at the outset of the American Revolution.
The text below the view loosely translates to: "New York, a city in North America on the Island named Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, which was first settled by the Dutch in 1615 and called New Amsterdam. In 1666 it was taken over by the British and named New York." The view presents a fanciful look at New York Harbor. As noted in the catalog entry for the John Carter Brown copy of this view:
This perspective view, or "vue d'optique," was a special type of popular print published in Europe during the 18th century. These prints were viewed through a device called an "optical machine" or an "optique." This view is not of New York, but is one half of William Woollett's engraving of the Royal Dock Yard at Deptford, England. The other half of that engraving was transformed by Leizelt into a view of Philadelphia.
The present example of the view is a rare variant edition, with no text at the top.