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Striking birdseye view of San Francisco, based upon a painting by George H. Burgess.
Burgess' unique view show a perspective of the City from the foot of Montgomery Street looking north to Telegraph Hill. Shows buildings and warehouses in center; ships in harbor at right; fenced residences at left; men in campsite with tents and cook fires in foreground. The view shows what is now San Francisco's Financial District. The original painting is now at the Society of California Pioneers
George Henry Burgess, a wood engraver, painter, and lithographer, was born in London, England on June 8, 1831, the son of a prominent surgeon. He studied art at the Somerset School in England before joining the Gold Rush to San Francisco in 1850 with his older brother William. The brothers soon turned from mining to operating a jewelry store in Sonora. While visiting Hawaii in 1853, he painted portraits of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha. In 1871 he was a cofounder of the San Francisco Art Ass'n. An employee of Britton & Rey, his famous panoramic view / painting of San Francisco in 1849 was lithographed by Crocker in San Francisco in 1894.
Rarity
The view is scarce on the market.
The copy held in the Honeyman collection is trimmed into the image at the top. OCLC does not locate any examples, although there is an unattributed variant edition in the Bancroft Library. The New York Public Library also holds a copy of the view.
![[San Francisco] View of the Exposition Site As Seen From San Francisco Bay](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/64867.jpg)
