Plan of the Eastern Penitentiary – Historic 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
This antique engraving of Plan of the Eastern Penitentiary brings a moment of history to your wall. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.
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Plan of the Eastern Penitentiary
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The Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia was among the first purpose-built prisons in the world to hold inmates in individual cells, and this engraving records its layout as a plan rather than a view. The drawing is credited to John Haviland, the English-born architect who designed the institution, with the printed plate made by C.C. Childs. Plans like this one were used to show how cells, corridors, and the radiating wings were arranged around a central hub, a design the Pennsylvania system of solitary confinement depended on. The record gives no date, but the plan belongs to the early 1820s, when the penitentiary was being built and drew visitors and reformers from abroad.
| Medium | 1 print : engraving. |
|---|---|
| Notes | [no date recorded on caption card] |
| Subjects | Engraving by C.C. Childs; John Haviland, arch't del. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: BI--WORKS; Artists, Publ. I.; Arch. Colls; Prisons...--Pa.; Pa.--Phila.; Architecture--Designs & plans; Shelf. |
| Source | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division |
| Original scan | 1,075 × 1,536 px · prints to 4 × 5 in at 300 dpi |
| Reference | AMZ-SOTP-HPA-133380 |
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