National Publishing Co. "Birds Eye View of the Centennial Buildings and Grounds"

National Publishing Co. "Birds Eye View of the Centennial Buildings and Grounds". 

Philadelphia: National Publishing Co., 1876. Third state? 15 1/2 x 23. Litho-tint. Stains in upper and lower right margin corners not affecting image. Else, good condition.

In 1876, the National Publishing Company issued The Illustrated History of the Centennial Exhibition. This work was written by James D. McCabe, and it included a history of the Exhibition and descriptions of all the buildings and exhibits. As a promotion for the volume, the National Publishing Company issued this bird's eye view of the Centennial grounds, with the grounds and buildings drawn from architectural plans. The print shows most of the major structures along with a number of the smaller state pavilions. These latter images did not appear in an earlier version of this print. The scene is drawn from a perspective on Belmont plateau and it provides an interesting image of the Exhibition. The differences between this print and the second state are the trees in foreground have been redrawn and a cluster of shrubs in an open patch of land in the middle foreground have been removed.