ARTIST: Nicolino Calyo
PUBLISHER: Published by L. P. Clover, New-York.
MEDIUM: Aquatint with line engraving, hand-colored.
DATE: 1836
EDITION SIZE: Image size 16 1/8 x 23 1/4" (412 x 590 mm).
DESCRIPTION: N. Calyo, pinxt. Engd. by W.J. Bennett. Depicted is the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1835 that leveled a significant portion of downtown Manhattan. The ordeal was made worse by the fridge temperatures, which froze the water within the hydrants and firemen's hand-pumped engines, gusting winds and exhausted firefighters, who had been battling fires elsewhere in the city in the days prior. The Great Fire began in a warehouse on the corner of Pearl Street and Exchange Place and quickly spread, eating through warehouses and commercial buildings which stored premium dry goods (silks, lace, teas, musical instruments, etc). Several dozen buildings were cast ablaze within the first hour alone and some 700 would be destroyed before the fire could be extinguished. In this aquatint the South Dutch Church can be seen on the left, a burnt out shell of its former glory. The Merchant Exchange building is in ruins in the center background and a pile of saved goods sits on the street in the right foreground. Little was able to be salvaged after the fire was put out. The black boarder around the image was done to represent a sense of mourning.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition, save minor soiling in margins. Original hand-color.
REFERENCE: Deak #439.
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