Mauch Chunk
Item
Title
Mauch Chunk
Creator
George Lehman
American, b. Switzerland, c. 1803–1870
Published by C. G. Childs & R. H. Hobson, Philadelphia
American, b. Switzerland, c. 1803–1870
Published by C. G. Childs & R. H. Hobson, Philadelphia
Date
1829
Materials
Aquatint with hand coloring
Measurements
11-5/8 x 15-1/16 in. (29.5 x 38.3 cm)
Description
George Lehman, a talented landscape painter who was also trained in printmaking, came to this country from his native Switzerland in 1824. He produced lithographs and engravings as early as 1827 for the Philadelphia publisher Cephas G. Childs, and by 1833, the association extended to a partnership. Two years later, when Peter Duval bought out Childs’ interest, the business became known as Lehman & Duval. Lehman left the partnership in 1837, but continued to provide lithographs for Duval until at least the mid-1840s.
This view upstream of the Lehigh River captures the small village of Mauch Chunk—today Jim Thorpe—around the time the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company opened the Lehigh Canal, the elevated waterway depicted here just to the right of the river. The canal enabled the Lehigh River to be navigable to Easton, on the Delaware River, specifically for the transport of anthracite coal to Philadelphia and other eastern cities. The coal was mined at Summit Hill, then transported nine miles via the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, just the second railroad constructed in the United States. The railroad, which operated by gravity alone from Summit Hill, required a downhill and an uphill line to run efficiently. Both are shown here, ascending and descending, as it were, just above the town.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
This view upstream of the Lehigh River captures the small village of Mauch Chunk—today Jim Thorpe—around the time the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company opened the Lehigh Canal, the elevated waterway depicted here just to the right of the river. The canal enabled the Lehigh River to be navigable to Easton, on the Delaware River, specifically for the transport of anthracite coal to Philadelphia and other eastern cities. The coal was mined at Summit Hill, then transported nine miles via the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, just the second railroad constructed in the United States. The railroad, which operated by gravity alone from Summit Hill, required a downhill and an uphill line to run efficiently. Both are shown here, ascending and descending, as it were, just above the town.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
Source
Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, partial gift and purchase from John C. O’Connor and Ralph M. Yeager.
Identifier
86.501
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.