Smith Brothers "Portland, ME"

Smith Brothers.  "Portland, ME." 

From The Ladies' Repository.  Cincinnati, 1854.  Octavo, ca. 4 1/2 x 7 1/2.  Steel engraving. Uncolored as originally issued.  Small foxing speck in image.  Very good condition. 

A print from a scarce group of excellent American views from The Ladies' Repository. This mid-nineteenth century periodical was produced in Cincinnati by members of the Methodist Church. It was a magazine "Devoted To Literature and Religion," containing articles, poetry, fiction, and notes of interest to its readers. One of its most interesting aspects was the inclusion of engravings. Many had a religious or "genre" theme, but many were topographical views of different parts of the United States. This magazine had a limited circulation and so these prints are quite a bit scarcer than most similar engravings of the period. These prints were after large lithographic birds-eye views of the period issued by the Smith Brothers.  These are among the most interesting and hard-to-find American views of the middle of last century.