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1893 Walker View of Vineyard Haven, Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
VineyardHaven-walker-1893$5,500.00
Title
Vineyard Haven. Dukes County. Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts. The Popular Seaside Summer Resort. Looking East.
1893 (undated) 16 x 19 in (40.64 x 48.26 cm)
1893 (undated) 16 x 19 in (40.64 x 48.26 cm)
Description
A stunning c. 1893 bird's-eye view of Vineyard Haven, Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard. The view was drawn and engraved by Joseph L. Jones and published by George H. Walker. It captures Vineyard Haven in a moment of transition from a maritime and whaling community to a resort town.
A Closer Look
The view looks east over Vineyard Haven / Tisbury towards Vineyard Haven Harbor and East Chop - in this, it is unusual, as most views of waterfront towns look over the water towards the town rather than over the town towards the harbor. Nonetheless, the view reveals a small waterfront town with a busy harbor. Streets are named, and a key in the lower left identifies 23 locations - many of which reference the town's maritime history: note a sailor's free reading room, a U.S. Marine Hospital, and four captain's residences. The map also labels Lagoon Heights, modern-day Oak Bluffs, at the time a real estate development that collapsed in the Panic of 1873.From Whaling Town to Resort
The view is subtitled, 'The Popular Seaside Summer Resort', referencing Martha's Vineyard's late-19th century transition from a maritime to a tourism economy. Vineyard Haven's transition towards tourism was driven by Martha's Vineyard's picturesque landscapes, scenic coastline, and charming atmosphere. Improved transportation, including steamship services and the introduction of electric trolleys, made the island more accessible to travelers from Boston and New York. As tourism flourished, local businesses adapted by establishing boarding houses, grand hotels, restaurants, and shops while maintaining maritime and agricultural traditions. This transition marked a significant shift in the town's identity that persists to this day.Publication History and Census
This view was engraved on stone by Joseph L. Jones (signed lower right in-plate) for the George H. Walker Company of Boston, Massachusetts. There are at least two states, this likely being the second. They can be distinguished by the addition of point 'K. Grove Hill House' and '2. Association Hall' in the 'References' section. Curiously, the 'References' section in both editions does leave room for 'K', but it is omitted in the example held at the Boston Public Library. Association Hall, identified here as '2', or perhaps 'Z' (there is no 'Y'), is today's Tisbury Town Hall, made such in 1891, somewhat dating the piece. Rare. Reps notes examples in the Boston Public Library and the American Antiquarian Society. We note an additional example at the Martha's Vineyard Museum. No history on the market.CartographerS
George Hiram Walker (January 4, 1852 - November 14, 1927) was a Boston based publisher of books, views, and maps active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Springfield, Vermont, Walker started his life as a dry goods merchant but developed an active interest in publishing during the early 1870s. Walker began publishing in 1878 when he partnered with an unknown New York Firm. Two years later, Walker brought the operation in house by partnering with his brother, Oscar W. Walker, in the opening of a lithography studio at 81 Milk Street, Boston. Shortly thereafter the firm expanded to new offices at 160 Tremont Street, Boston. The Walker brothers produced a large corpus of works, most of which focused on travel and tourism in New England. Walker also established the Walker-Gordon Milk Laboratory with Dr. Thomas Morgan Rotch and Gustave Gordon. This interesting investment was based on the premise that infant deaths could be avoided by providing higher quality milk. The company eventually became a great success, producing a high-quality cow milk that closely resembled human breast milk. In the process the Walker-Gordon laboratory developed many of the dairy health standards that are still with us today. Walker married Irene L. Loud on March 25, 1885. More by this mapmaker...
Joseph L. Jones (February 12, 1859 - May 7, 1943) was a lithographer based in Boston in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jones was born in Boston to Joseph E. Jones, a navy lieutenant, and Louisa Jones, his Belgian wife. He married Hattie McLoon in 1882. Jones worked with various firms of the period, most specifically the George J. Walker Company of Boston, for whom he engraved several bird's-eye views. He was involved with the formation of the Lithographer's Union and the 1896 Lithographer's Strike, one of the first instances of successful collective bargaining in the United States. We see him in Milwaukee, a hub for American lithography, in 1915. He died in Chicago of complications related to arthritis, an amputated limb, and blood loss. He is interred in Damariscotta, Maine. Learn More...
Condition
Good. Slight patchy toning. Fill along bottom margin. Laid down on archival tissue.
References
Reps, John, Views and Viewmakers of Urban America (University of Missouri, Columbia, 1984), #1655. Boston Public Library, 05_04_000027. Martha's Vineyard Museum, #2012.034.024.