Snapshots of the Past

City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by G. Cooke ; engraved by W.J. Bennett. – Historic Print

City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by G. Cooke ; engraved by W.J. Bennett., New York : L.P. Clover, c1838. — antique engraving
City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by G. Cooke ; engraved by W.J. Bennett., New York : L.P. Clover, c1838.. Antique engraving from the Charleston collection.

(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

City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by G. Cooke ; engraved by W.J. Bennett. comes to life in this antique engraving, reproduced from the original with every detail intact. An authentic image from the Library of Congress, it carries the weight of the real historical record.

The framed print arrives ready to hang; the unframed option suits custom framing. A conversation-starting piece for home, office, or as a meaningful gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past, founded in 2001, has served tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by G. Cooke ; engraved by W.J. Bennett.

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

This view looks across Cooper's River at Charleston, South Carolina, and it concentrates on the working waterfront rather than the city's churches or grand houses. The composition was painted by G. Cooke and engraved by W.J. Bennett, then published in New York around 1838 by L.P. Clover, using engraving and aquatint with watercolor added by hand. In the 1830s Charleston was one of the South's busiest ports, with its harbor handling large volumes of cotton, so a waterfront prospect like this one spoke to commerce and civic pride. The hand-colored finish, which made each print more labor-intensive to produce, is worth noticing as well.

Created / publishedNew York : L.P. Clover, c1838.
Medium1 print : engraving and aquatint, with watercolor ; 54.8 x 75 cm (sheet).
GenreEngravings Color 1830-1840.
NotesCopyright by L.P. Clover. Library of Congress prints and photographs: an illustrated guide / Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1995, p. 73 Published in: Eyes of the nation : a visual history of the United States / Vincent Virga and curators of the Library of Congress ; historical commentary by Alan Brinkley. New York : Knopf, 1997. Exhibited: American Treasures of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2007.
SubjectsWaterfronts--South Carolina--Charleston--1830-1840. Charleston (S.C.)--1830-1840.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,464 × 1,107 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-176046

More from the Charleston collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.

Related pictures

City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by G. Cooke ; engraved by W.J. Bennett.City of Charleston, South Carolina, looking across Cooper's River / painted by GBird's eye view of the city of Charleston South Carolina 1872 / C. Drie, lithographer.Bird's eye view of the city of Charleston South Carolina 1872 / C. Drie, lithogr[Christ Church parish(?), Boone Hall cabins, slave quarters(?), Charleston Co., South Carolina][Christ Church parish(?), Boone Hall cabins, slave quarters(?), Charleston Co., Charleston, South Carolina: The orphan asylum, [facade]Charleston, South Carolina: The orphan asylum, [facade]Bird's-eye view of Charleston, South CarolinaBird's-eye view of Charleston, South Carolina[Charleston, South Carolina][Charleston, South Carolina]