Jun 23, 2022 - Sale 2610

Sale 2610 - Lot 384

Price Realized: $ 750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
(NEW YORK CITY.) William James Bennett; after Nicolino Calyo. View of the Great Fire in New York, Decr. 16th & 17th 1835. [and] View of the Ruins After the Great Fire in New York, Decr. 16th & 17th 1835. Together two uncolored grisaille aquatint plates on heavy wove paper. Approximately 22 1/2x28 3/4 inches each sheet size, wide margins; light edge soiling and a few small closed margin tears but no major damage. New York: L.P. Clover, 1836
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Additional Details

Finely executed aquatints picturing the Great Fire of 1835. Over 20 square blocks were destroyed by the fire which lasted for several days and resulted in over $20 million in property damages.

The first print, viewed from the perspective of Wall and William Streets, shows the Merchant's Exchange engulfed in flames. The second, from Exchange Place looking east, shows the ruins of the Garden Street Church.

Bennett's mastery of the aquatint process is particularly evident here, unobscured by hand-coloring.