A Rich Architectural Repository of New York City
& the Emergence of a Luxury Shopping Capital

BARTLETT, G. H.

[New York, 1870]

Bartlett's Illustrated Map Of New York City….

21 x 34 ½ inches, Lithograph with hand color; some filled losses at fold intersections, very good condition. Framed.

A rare and unusual plan of the city with a strong focus on recreation. With its scores of images of buildings, this plan is a particularly rich architectural resource.  Illustrated are theatres (Booth's, Wallack's, The Globe), clubs, concert halls, businesses and retailers, including Tiffany & Co., which opened lavish quarters in 1870 on Union Square.  All of this reflects the city's growing prosperity after the Civil War and the emergence of New York as the chief emporium of the Gilded Age. 

The plan extends northward as far as 61^st Street, showing the southern end of Central Park.  A horse-drawn street car on rails makes it way down Second Avenue.  Several steamships are illustrated in the harbor with the names of the companies they are associated with and their destinations.  G. H. Bartlett is identified as both the map's artist and lithographer.

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