Snapshots of the Past

Alms House in Spruce Street, Philadelphia – Antique Photo Print

Alms House in Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 1800 — antique engraving
Alms House in Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 1800. Antique engraving from the Philadelphia 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

Step back in time with Alms House in Spruce Street, Philadelphia, 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.

Order it framed and ready to hang, or unframed to match a frame you already love. A fine choice for anyone who loves history, and a gift that gets noticed. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Since 2001, Snapshots of the Past has shipped historic prints to tens of thousands of customers around the world.

Alms House in Spruce Street, Philadelphia

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Birch's engraving of the Alms House on Spruce Street is one of the plates in his 1800 series of views of Philadelphia, a set that recorded the city's public buildings and streets at the turn of the century. The almshouse was a charitable institution for the poor and infirm, and showing it among the city's landmarks reflects how civic life and care for residents were part of the city's public face. Philadelphia had been the nation's capital until 1800, which gives the series added interest as a portrait of a major American city at a moment of transition. The hand-coloring, applied by hand to the engraved lines, gives the plate the look of a painted watercolor.

Created / published1800
Medium1 print : engraving, hand-colored.
SubjectsHand-colored engraving by Wm. Birch & Son. Illus. in: The City of Philadelphia...as It Appeared in the Year 1800..., 1800. Plate 25. Ref. This record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Alms houses; Pa.--Phila.(2); Artists, Publ. I.; RBD; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 1,225 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-176087

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