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1876 Joseph Warner Bird's-Eye View Map of Portland, Maine (Stoner)
PortlandMaine-warner-1876-2$6,500.00
Title
Bird's Eye View of the City of Portland Maine, 1876.
1876 (dated) 24.75 x 34.5 in (62.865 x 87.63 cm)
1876 (dated) 24.75 x 34.5 in (62.865 x 87.63 cm)
Description
An exceptional 1876 bird's-eye view map of Portland, Maine, by Joseph Warner - one of only three known views by Warner. It is considered to be the largest and best aerial view of Portland issued in the 19th century.
City views were being produced in the United States as early as the 1830s, but the genre exploded after the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). Bridging the gap between maps and pictures, most 19th-century American bird's-eye views presented cities to the public from high points. Some were imagined, but others were drawn from hot-air balloons or nearby hills. The presentation, combining high elevation, commercial interest, and new printing technology, created a uniquely American art form, as described by historian Donald Karshan,
A Closer Look
From a fictional high point, the view looks east on Portland, with buildings throughout the city individually rendered. Warner has identified 91 locations, including hotels, civic buildings, transport hubs, and businesses, all of which are numerically labeled and correspond with an index below the bottom border. Portland's citizens are illustrated throughout, walking the streets or riding horsedrawn carts. A streetcar line runs along Congress Street. Trackage operated by the Maine Central Railroad, the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad, and the Portland and Rochester Railroad are illustrated in the background.Some Historical Context
Following the destruction of much of Portland in the Great Fire of 1866, the city enjoyed a rapid resurgence. By 1870, Portland's population had increased to about 31,500 citizens. Six years later, when Warner visited to draw this view, Portland had become a bustling metropolis and lively port.American Bird's-Eye City Views
The Bird's-Eye view industry emerged in the United States in the middle part of the 19th century and coincided with the commercial development of lithographic printing. Before the rise of lithography, the ability to own and display artwork in the home was largely limited to the extremely wealthy. The advent of lithographic printing made it possible for everyone to own visually striking artwork. A robust trade developed in portraits of political leaders, allegorical and religious images, and city views.City views were being produced in the United States as early as the 1830s, but the genre exploded after the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). Bridging the gap between maps and pictures, most 19th-century American bird's-eye views presented cities to the public from high points. Some were imagined, but others were drawn from hot-air balloons or nearby hills. The presentation, combining high elevation, commercial interest, and new printing technology, created a uniquely American art form, as described by historian Donald Karshan,
Some print connoisseurs believe that it was only with the advent of the full-blown city-view lithograph that American printmaking reached its first plateau of originality, making a historical contribution to the graphic arts. They cite the differences between the European city-view prints and the expansive American version that reflects a new land and a new attitude toward the land.The vogue for bird's-eye city views lasted from about 1845 to 1920, during which period some 2,400 cities were thus portrayed, some multiple times. Although views were produced in many urban centers, the nexus of view production in the United States was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The major American viewmakers were Stoner, Wellge, Bailey, Fowler, Hill Ruger, Koch, Burleigh, Norris, and Morse, among others.
Publication History and Census
This view was drawn by Joseph Warner and published by J. J. Stoner. It was printed by Charles Shober and Company, Lithographers, Chicago. Four examples are cataloged in OCLC, which are part of the collections at the Library of Congress, Pennsylvania State University, the Osher Map Library at the University of Southern Maine, and the Wisconsin Historical Society. Additional examples are held at the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.CartographerS
Joseph Warner (fl. c. 1876 - c. 1908) was an American bird's-eye view artist and publisher active in the late 19th century. Warner appears to have worked with the prolific view artist Albert Ruger. Little is known of Warner's life and only three known views bear his imprint: Portland, Maine; Fenton, Michigan; and Zeeland, Michigan. Two of these were published by Joseph Stoner. He is further known to have worked as an agent for Ruger in the publication of Ruger's 1879 view of East Saginaw. Little else is known of his life or work. More by this mapmaker...
Joseph John Stoner (December 21, 1829 - May 1917) was a Madison, Wisconsin based publisher of bird's-eye city views active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Stoner was born in Highspire, Pennsylvania and apprenticed as a carver of ornamental chairs before turning to publishing. He partnered with the bookseller Ephraim T. Kellogg of Madison, Wisconsin, for whom he was a traveling agent. His career in views began around 1867 when he met and befriended the bird's-eye view artist Albert Ruger, who was sketching Madison that year. Ruger and Stoner partnered and began publishing city views under the imprint 'Ruger & Stoner.' The partners traveled extensively through the Midwest publishing some 11 city views under their joint imprint - although there may be as many as 62 others unattributed. The partnership partially dissolved in 1872 although they continued to work together on a contractual basis. Stoner subsequently traveled even more extensively, hiring young artists to sketch city views in such wide ranging destinations as Texas, Maine, and Oregon, among others. He produced a total of some 314 views with various artists including: Albert Ruger, Herman Brosius, Thaddeus M. Fowler, Augustus Koch, Albert F. Poole, Henry Wellge, Joseph Warner, and Camille N. Drie (Dry). Stoner died in Berkeley, California in 1917. Learn More...
Charles Shober (February 1831 - c. 1900) was a German-American lithographer and painter. Shober was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1854. He established himself in Philadelphia, at 17 Minor Street, where fellow lithographers and map engravers George Worley and Benjamin Mathias, also worked. His first lithograph in America appeared in an 1855 issue of The Horticulturist. In 1857, he partnered with Charles Reen to establish 'Reen and Shober' at 5 South Sixth Street, Philadelphia. The partners relocated their business to Chicago (106 Lake Street) in 1859. Reen left the firm in 1859 and Charles took a new partner, August Roth, printing under the imprint of 'Charles Shober'. They met with considerable success, until 1871, when like many Chicago businesses, the Great Fire laid them low. After the fire, he took over management and partial ownership of the Chicago Lithographic Company, which had been founded some years earlier by Louis Kurtz and Edward Carqueville. Kurtz's interest in the firm was acquired by Shober and it was renamed 'Charles Shober and Company'. Sometime after 1876, the firm's name changed to 'Shober Lithograph Company', and then in 1877, to 'Shober and Carqueville Lithograph Company'. Despite infighting, the firm prospered, printing views, posters, maps, trade cards, and sheet music. In 1887, after a prolonged dispute with Carqueville, Shober left the firm. He traveled briefly then took a position as president of the Chicago Bank Note Company. Shober's son died in a tragic suicide in 1896, after which, Shober seems to have vanished from professional life. He appears in the Chicago directory as late as 1900. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Full professional restoration.
References
Reps, John, Views and Viewmakers of Urban America (University of Missouri, Columbia, 1984), #1238. Boston Public Library, Levanthal Map Center, G3734.P8A3 1876 .W3. OCLC 5447760. Library of Congress, Map Division, G3734.P8A3 1876 .W3. Amon Carter Museum of American Art 1970.232.