Description:
Carwitham apparently used the much larger view of Boston by William Burgis as the basis for his print. Burgis (fl. 1716–1731), a draftsman, engraver, and mapmaker, resided in Boston between 1722 and 1731, and produced several views of the town and one map. This version of Carwitham’s view of Boston, one of three published, depicts the town at approximately the same period of the Bonner/Price map. Hand-colored engraving titled "A South East View of the Great Town of BOSTON in New England in America / Printed for Carington Bowles Map & Printseller at No. 69 in St. Pauls Church Yard, London" and "J. Carwitham sculp." This topographical view was based on a 1722 view of Boston by William Burgis, whose drawings of harbors, which also included Harvard and New York, were later engraved for general distribution with the increasing interest in topographic views. This interest continued with the mid 19th century prints based on William H. Bartlett's (1809-1854) views of American scenery. Until the 1770s, virtually all the subjects drawn in America were intended to be engraved in England or Europe. Portraits were the largest single type of prints produced, with landscapes and views being second. This view shows large and small ships in the foreground with the Long Wharf, the Town Hall built in 1711, ten Boston churches, and the beacon on what became Beacon Hill in the background. Representing the third generation of publishers, print and map sellers, Carington Bowles (1724-1793) worked with his father, John Bowles (1701-1779), in Cornhill until 1764 when he took over the firm vacated by his uncle, Thomas Bowles (1695-1767) in St. Paul's Churchyard, which he lead for thirty years until his death in 1793 when his son Henry continued under the partnership of Bowles & Carver. This is probably a second state since Carington Bowles succeeded Thomas Bowles in 1764.
Label Text:
Carwitham apparently used the much larger view of Boston by William Burgis as the basis for his print. Burgis (fl. 1716–1731), a draftsman, engraver, and mapmaker, resided in Boston between 1722 and 1731, and produced several views of the town and one map. This version of Carwitham’s view of Boston, one of three published, depicts the town at approximately the same period of the Bonner/Price map.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1656 |
