Willis, N.P. et al. "Picturesque American Scenery"

Picturesque American Scenery.

Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1883. 4to. Twenty-four steel engravings, with original tissue guards. Engravings in excellent condition. Bound in cloth cover with embossed decorative border and title. Board hinges slightly cracked. Otherwise, firm and in very good condition.

This view book contains, "A series of twenty-five beautiful steel engravings from designs by W.H. Bartlett, George L. Brown, and Thomas Moran, with text by N.P. Willis and others." During the 1870s, view books were in high demand due to the great popularity. The two major popular works of this genre in the nineteenth century were William Cullen Bryant's Picturesque America and N. P. Willis' earlier American Scenery. This book of views and accompanying description and poetic text can be seen as part of this lineage of popular American view books, and it borrows the same format as the earlier publications. It is wonderfully illustrated with twenty-one steel engravings by W.H. Bartlett, and one by Thomas Moran. Bartlett particularly associated with the views which appeared in American Scenery, and these plates are taken from that original publication. These prints were extremely popular from the their first appearance, and they established Bartlett's reputation as the premier 'picturesque' travel artist, a reputation he has retained to this day.