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Top of the Washington Monument. Setting the capstone / Alex. Millar, del. – Historic Reproduction

Top of the Washington Monument. Setting the capstone / Alex. Millar, del., c1885 Feb. 2. — antique engraving
Top of the Washington Monument. Setting the capstone / Alex. Millar, del., c1885 Feb. 2.. Antique engraving from the Washington Monument 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

This antique engraving of Top of the Washington Monument. Setting the capstone / Alex. Millar, del. brings a moment of history to your wall. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. 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.

Top of the Washington Monument. Setting the capstone / Alex. Millar, del.

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Rather than the finished obelisk, this engraving shows workmen at the very top of the Washington Monument as the aluminum-tipped capstone, or pyramidion, is set in place. The capstone went up in December 1884, and the monument was dedicated the following February, so the scene captures the last stage of a structure that had taken decades to finish, with work stalled for several years after the Civil War. Alexander Millar, a Washington artist, drew the scaffolding and rigging in detail, offering a view of the project that few visitors at ground level could have seen.

Created / publishedc1885 Feb. 2.
Medium1 print : engraving.
GenreEngravings 1880-1890.
NotesQ1787 U.S. Copyright Office. Title from item. Copyright by Alexander Millar, Washington, D.C.
SubjectsWashington Monument (Washington, D.C.)--1880-1890. Construction--Washington (D.C.)--1880-1890. Scaffolding--Washington (D.C.)--1880-1890. Monuments & memorials--Washington (D.C.)--1880-1890.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan650 × 851 px
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-211311

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