A levee at night - electric light illumination. Sketches on the levee, New Orleans / by J. O. Davidson . – Antique Print
(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)
Description
Step back in time with A levee at night - electric light illumination. Sketches on the levee, New Orleans / by J. O. Davidson ., an antique engraving rich in period detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.
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A levee at night - electric light illumination. Sketches on the levee, New Orleans / by J. O. Davidson .
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Most views of the New Orleans waterfront from this period show daylight activity, but this wood engraving focuses on the levee after dark, when electric arc lamps lit the wharves along the Mississippi. Published in *Harper's Weekly* on March 3, 1883, it was drawn by J. O. Davidson and records a novelty of the early 1880s: electric lighting replacing gas and oil for working the docks at night. The levee was the city's commercial heart, where cotton, sugar, and river freight moved around the clock, so the scene shows how the port kept working after sunset.
| Created / published | 1883 March 3. |
|---|---|
| Medium | 1 print : wood engraving. |
| Genre | Periodical illustrations 1880-1890.Wood engravings 1880-1890. |
| Notes | Illus. in: Harper's weekly, v. 27, no. 1367 (1883 March 3), p. 133. Title from item. |
| Subjects | Levees--Louisiana--New Orleans--1880-1890. Electric lighting--Louisiana--New Orleans--1880-1890. Street lights--Louisiana--New Orleans--1880-1890. Night--Louisiana--New Orleans--1880-1890. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,536 × 1,098 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-110581 |
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