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Antique New York Maps: The Municipal Art Society Collection
These extraordinary and beautiful documents are a New York time travelogue through the century that encompasses the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. We’re delighted that these works can both highlight and support the work of The Municipal Art Society of New York, one of New York’s oldest and most respected civic institutions. The earliest view brings us back to the British-ruled port of the 1730s; the only future landmarks were lower Manhattan’s churches, City Hall and the fortification of the Battery. A View of Fort George with the City of New York from the S. W. is your chance to own the city’s original river and harbor view. Take a virtual stroll up pre-Revolutionary Broadway -- the beginning of lower Manhattan’s street pattern is clearly detailed in Bernard Ratzer's Plan of the City of New York, in North America: Surveyed in the Years 1766 & 1767. If your natural habitat is Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn, you’ll enjoy this beautiful work for years. Between independence and The Civil War, pre-development Long Island was comprehensively mapped in the spectacular, large-scale 1842 Geological Map of Long & Staten Islands. Scan the south shore from Coney Island to the Montauk Point lighthouse. This gorgeous map will be right at home in a Brooklyn loft, a Hamptons beach house and all points between. Fast forward to 1855: the City commissioned E. L. Vielé to produce the Sanitary & Topological Map of Manhattan to define the site of what would become Central Park. This legendary map is still the bible for structural engineers planning excavation in Manhattan. Whether your interest is professional – or you’re just curious about what flows beneath – this is a fascinating document. A decade later, Olmsted & Vaux published the Map of Central Park "showing the progress of the Work up to January 1, 1865" – a unique in-progress look at this 843-acre masterpiece-in-the-making. This is a wonderfully beautiful image for New Yorkers and tourists alike. Watch the VIDEO: Municipal Art Society President, Kent Barwick, on the Antique New York Maps.
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