Synopsis:
In 1794 , William Russell Birch (1755-1834), an English enamel painter and engraver, emigrated to Philadelphia, then the national capital and centre of culture and commerce. Inspired by its prosperity and beauty, he conceived a series of twenty-seven engravings that captured its vibrant street life and busy ports. Prized by collectors and historians alike, as an eighteenth century record of an American city, Birch's Views is incomparable. Architectural historian S.Robert Teitelman has brought the views up-to-dateby including facing-page photographs recording each site in 1960 and 2000,complete with notes and a modern map. Although many handsome perspectives ofthe city in Birch's Views have disappeared through generations of development, significant structures remain. Teitelman's photographs provide a fascinating record of Philadelphia's renewed growth and vitality between 1960 and 2000, adding a further dimension to William Birch's earlier visual record. This edition makes a true collector's item
About the Author:
S. Robert Teitelman is a retired New Jersey lawyer who has been actively involved in the cultural life of Philadelphia, serving on the boards of a number of organizations. He has merged his keen interest in the history and iconography of Philadelphia and the Delaware River with his interest in photography. After acquiring a first edition copy of Birch's Views of Philadelphia produced in 1800, he began to photograph the present-day scenes of the city to compare and contrast them with Birch's earlier examples. That began what has become a forty-year project with his photographs, like Birch's views, a legacy for future generations.
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