Impressions

Prints of Niagara Falls
1821 to 1830

[ 1811 to 1820 | Index | 1831 to 1840 ]

Prints by Thomas H. Wentworth. From Five Engravings of Niagara Falls. Oswego, N.Y., June 4, 1821. Etchings.

Three of five prints issued in a portfolio with paper wrappers by Thomas Hanford Wentworth, a portrait and landscape painter from Oswego, New York. This was the first published set of multiple views of Niagara. The third view listed above contains, below the title, a note: "Goat Island divides the two Falls of Niagara which (at Niagara) are distinguished by the American and by the British Fall."


Penney #55 Prints by Edouard De Montule. From Recueil des Cartes et des Vues du Voyage en Amerique en Italie en Sicile et en Egypte fait pendant les Annees 1816, 1817, 1818 et 1819. Paris, 1821. Lithographs by Montule.

These images were drawn by Edouard de Montule when he visited North America in 1817. The prints are similar in concept and appearance to Alexander Wilson's, but are based on first-hand renderings.



56a. Robert Gourlay. "Ground Sketch Of Niagara Falls, the Rapids, And Vicinity. by R.G. for statistical account of U. Canada." From Statistical Account of Upper Canada. London: Simpkin & Co., 1822. 7 1/2 x 4 3/8. Engraving by Neele & Son.

A detailed map of the area from Chippawa to the Falls.


56ad. Edouard De Montule. A Voyage to North America, and The West Indies, in 1817. London: Sir Richard Phillips and Co., 1821. First English edition. Octavo. 102pp. Modern cloth binding. With six engravings, including

The English translation of those parts of Recueil des Cartes et des Vues du Voyage... relating to North America and the West Indies (cf. above). The French publication included two lithographs of Niagara Falls ([55, 56]). This is an engraved version of the first of those prints.


57. After John Vanderlyn. "Falls of Niagara." Part of the title cartouche of Henry S. Tanner's "A Map of North America, constructed according to the latest information." Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1822. From American Atlas. Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1823. Four sheets. Cartouche ca. 14 3/4 x 18 1/2; map 42 1/2 x 57 3/4. Engraving by H.S. Tanner. Hand color. Adamson1: 185; Seibel1: 82.

This view of Niagara appears in the impressive title cartouche of Tanner's map of North America. This cartouche combines various symbols of America, including the Niagara image, depictions of a rattlesnake, an eagle, a beaver, a moose, a polar bear, illustrations of Native Americans, and a rendering of Natural Bridge. The picture of Niagara is a combination of Vanderlyn's [36] "A View of the Westerly Branch," used for the Horseshoe Falls portion of the image, and the left part of his [35] "A Distant View of the Falls of Niagara," used for the American Falls portion of the image. This image was in turn the basis for Edward Hicks' painting "The Falls of Niagara."


58. "The Falls of Niagara." UC: "Nature Displayed." London: Richard Phillips & Co., 1823. From New Voyages and Travels. London: R. Phillips & Co., 1819-23. 6 5/8 x 21 1/2. Engraving. Cf. Dow: 889; Seibel1: 97.

This is likely a later edition of the identically titled print above [51]. It was printed from the same plate but with "Nature Displayed" added above the image and the publisher information added below the image.


58ad. "Part of the fall of Niagara, on the side of Canada." London: Sir Richard Phillips, 1820-23. From New Voyages and Travels(?). 6 1/4 x 3 7/8. Engraving by Neele & Son. Dow: 889; Seibel: 67.

According to Dow, this print is likely from one of the volumes of New Voyages and Travels issued by Sir Richard Phillips between 1820 and 1823.


59. Peter Maverick. "Niagara, from Below." Frontispiece of Theodore Dwight's The Northern Traveller: Containing the Routes to Niagara, Quebec, and the Springs. New York: Wilder & Campbell, 1825. First edition. 4 3/8 x 2 3/4. Engraving by P. Maverick. Adamson2: 189; Dow: 886; McKinsey: 65; Seibel1: 64; Stauffer: 2251.

The frontispiece image from an early travel guide. The same print also appeared in later editions of The Northern Traveller. This is a partial view of the Horseshoe Falls from below, similar to Alexander Wilson's print from the same vantage point [43].


Penney #60
Prints after Isaac Weld. From Giulio Ferrario's Il Costume Antico e Moderno. Volume XVI. Milan, 1827. Aquatint and etchings. Hand color.

Three images of Niagara on two sheets from a multi-volume work by Giulio Ferrario, of which Volumes XVI and XVII concern America. The prints have no printed title, but the titles cited are taken from the listing in the index. In Volume XVI, pages 247-48, Ferrario discusses Niagara Falls with particular reference to Isaac Weld, upon whose prints these are based. The single image print, plate 30, is attributed to Fumagalli but is based on Weld's [22] "View of the Falls of Niagara," though with some interesting modifications. From Weld's print, Fumagalli fairly closely copied the perspective, the rendering of the falls themselves, a large mound of whitewater breaking over a rock in the middle of the river, and the on-lookers in the foreground on the river bank. Fumagalli puts these details into a Hennepin-style format, taking from Hennepin the course of the river and the nature of the countryside above the falls, the style of the surrounding foliage, and the shape of the cliffs around the cataracts. The pair of views that are on the other sheet are closer copies of Weld's images; the top is based on [23] "View of the Horse-Shoe Falls of Niagara" and the bottom view is based on [24] "View of the lesser Fall of Niagara." Octavo versions of these prints are listed below [71, 72].


Penney #65SpacerPenney #64

Prints by W. Vivian. In Views of the Great Falls of Niagara. London: R. Ackermann, 1825. Small folio. Title page and five views. Lithographs by Thomas M. Baynes. Printed by C. Hullmandel. Dow: 892; Seibel1: 87.

Only the second portfolio of views of Niagara issued. An American edition of the portfolio was also issued, the prints drawn on stone by H. Bridport and W.B. Lucas and printed by Kennedy & Lucas (cf. Seibel1: 12, 62).


Penney #69Penney #70

Prints by John Maude. In Visit To The Falls Of Niagara, In 1800. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green, 1826. Octavo. Title illustration and eight full page steel engravings by John Cousen. Dow: 882; Seibel1: 63.

"The copper plate engravings of the author which illustrate the Niagara portion of his narrative are attractive, if not notable for their accuracy." (Dow, p.882) Only 300 copies of the book were issued.


Prints after Isaac Weld. From Giulio Ferrario's Il Costume Antico e Moderno...America Volume Primo. Florence: Vincenzo Batelli, 1826. Octavo. Etching & stipple by Bernieri. Hand color. Dow: 882; Eland: 151-53?; Seibel1: 8.

Octavo versions of the Niagara prints in the folio edition of Ferrario's multi-volume set [60, 61].


Prints by Frederick Fitzgerald De Roos. From Personal Narrative of Travels in the United States and Canada in 1826 With Remarks On The Present State Of The American Navy. London: William Harrison Ainsworth, 1827. Lithographs by C. Hullmandel. Dow: 890; Seibel1: 29.

Three prints and two maps from De Roos' narrative of his travels about the United States and Canada in 1826. De Roos was sent to America to survey the strength of the U.S. Navy in order to see what threat it might pose to British naval dominance.


78. "Chute Du Niagara." LR: "Voyage en Amerique." Paris: Furne, 1827-33. 3 1/4 x 4 5/8. Engraving by Schraeder. Hand color. Dow: 915; Seibel1: 78.

Dow lists the engraver as "Shrade."


78ad. J.E.A. "Niagara, below the great Sheet." Between 1827-1833. 4 1/4 x 6 7/8. Etching by William Heath.

An etching of a scene from below the Horseshoe Fall. It shows the walkway leading out from Terrapin Point, but no tower.


Penney #80
Prints by Jacques Gerard Milbert. From Itineraire Pittoresque du Fleuve Hudson et des Parties Laterales. Paris: H. Gaugain, 1828-29. Lithographs. Deák2: 299; Dow: 889; Seibel1: 64.

Milbert, a French landscape artist, travelled around the United States from 1815 to 1822 in order to study the natural history of the country. Milbert painted scenes of the places he visited and upon his return to France issued his Itineraire, which included 53 lithographed views of America. Titles on the prints are given in French, English, German, and Latin; only the English and French titles are listed above.


Two prints of six from Amérique Septentrionale. Vues des Chutes du Niagara. Dessiées d'après nature et Lithographiées par J. Milbert, peintre naturaliste, voyageur du Gouvernment, Correespondant du Muéum d'historie naturelle au Jardin du Roi. Paris: Chez E. Ardit, éditeur, Rue Neuve de Petits Champs No. 29., 1829. Printed by H. Gaugain.

These two prints are from a rare set of six prints just on Niagara Falls by Milbert, originally issued as a portfolio with paper covers. This portfolio is listed as no. 306 in Jean Adhémar's Les Lithographiès de Paysage en France à l'époque romantique. (Paris, 1976.)

The other four prints from the series, not in the Penney collection are as follows:
Penney #84Penney #85

Prints by William James Bennett. New York: Henry J. Megarey, 1829. First states. Aquatint and etching by John Hill. Hand color.

Based on paintings made during his trip to Niagara in 1829, Bennett's prints were on sale as souvenirs at the Falls in the 1830s. The date of this pair is established by the entries in Hill's account book for 1829, which lists charges that year for engraving, printing, and coloring these prints. The second states of these prints have the imprint "Published by Joseph Lord, New York," with Megarey's name removed. Lord is listed as a publisher in New York directories for 1853-54. Note that the view of the American Fall incorrectly states "Painted by H.J. Bennett." The other print has the correct "Painted by W.J. Bennett."


Prints by Basil Hall. From Forty etchings from Sketches made with the Camera Lucida, in North America, in 1827 and 1828. London and Edinburgh, 1829-30. Etchings by William H. Lizars. Adamson2: 196; Dow: 891; Kotik: 21; Seibel1: 46.

Basil Hall's portfolio consists of etchings made using a camera lucida. This is an instrument that reflects a scene, toward which it is pointed, onto a sheet of paper so that the outline of the view can be traced on that paper. These prints originally were issued two on a single sheet.


Penney #92Penney #93

Prints published by J.P. Quenot. Paris, 1820s? Lithographs by Charles Etienne Pierre Motte.

These two prints have the same image, publisher, lithographer, and super-title indicating that they are based on a painting in the "Galerie Du Palais Royal." The images are drawn somewhat differently, though the lithographer is the same, and it is unclear what role was played by the listed artists. Motte worked with Milbert in the 1820s and the style of the prints is of that decade. Motte died in 1836, so the prints were likely issued before that date.


94. E. Lemaitre. "La Chute Du Niagara." Strasbourg, 1820s? 8 5/8 x 7 1/4. Lithograph. Hand color.

Based on the same original painting as the two prints above, with the image presented in a vertical rather than horizontal format.


95. "Niagara. The British Side." 1820s? 5 1/8 x 7 1/4. Lithograph.

An unrecorded print, the style of which indicates it might have been done in the 1820s. It was probably published in Britain.


Penney #96Penney #97

Prints by William James Bennett. New York: Henry J. Megarey, 1830. Aquatints by W.J. Bennett. Hand color.

The date of these prints is established by an entry in John Hill's account book that states Hill was paid for coloring the prints in 1830. There is a later state of the first print with the legend, "Printed by John Neale. At Illman & Pilbrow's," in the lower right corner. A second state of the second print is included in the Penney Collection and is described below [106]. A third state of the second print also exists, with the legend, "Printed & Col'd by J. Hill," replaced by, "Published by Joseph Lord." Lord is listed as a publisher in New York directories for 1853-54.


97ad. After William James Bennett. "Niagara Falls." 1830-1833. 7 7/8 x 9 3/8. Lithograph.

An unidentified lithograph based on W.J. Bennett's "Niagara Falls...this View of the British Fall taken from Goat Island." [97] This is a very close copy, extended slightly to the left side with one extra goat added. This is quite an early lithograph, especially if it is American as seems likely. The Pendleton firm issued two smaller derivatives of Bennett's view in this period, so perhaps this is another version by the firm.


98. J.M. Campbell, "From Nature." [View below the Horseshoe Falls.] 1830? 10 1/4 x 6 5/8. Two tone lithograph by S. Kingston.

This is likely an English lithograph. It is signed in reverse in the plate.


99. Barbieri. "La Cateratta di Niagara." Milan: Francesco Pagnoni, 1830? 7 1/2 x 4 7/8. Lithograph by Fr.(?) Terzaghi.

The Falls is depicted as a solid sheet of water with few identifying features. Included in the image are a large, non-existent rock formation shown above the brink of the falls and a party of sightseers, one of whom is a Native American.


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Impressions of Niagara

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