Easton Pa. in 1876
Item
Title
Easton Pa. in 1876
Creator
Artist unknown
American, 19th century?
After William Wallace Denslow
American, 1856–1915
Published in 1876 by Peter Fritts
American, 19th century?
After William Wallace Denslow
American, 1856–1915
Published in 1876 by Peter Fritts
Materials
Lithograph with hand coloring
Measurements
13-7/8 x 22-7/16 in. (35.3 x 58.2 cm)
Description
Easton, the county seat of Northampton County, was founded in 1750 and incorporated as a borough in 1789. The city was named after Easton Neston, in Northamptonshire, England, the estate owned by Thomas Penn’s father-in-law, George Fermor, 2nd Earl of Pomfret. Easton is the home of Lafayette College, shown in the upper right, which was founded in March 1826 and named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, of American Revolution fame, who had just completed his tour of the United States at the invitation of President Monroe. The Lehigh Canal, which brought coal from the Mauch Chunk area, joined the Delaware River at Easton, just above the railroad bridge depicted here.
This view of Easton was the first drawing by W. W. Denslow to be commercially lithographed. He would go one to design another eleven city views between 1876 and 1879 before turning to a rather peripatetic career as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines. In 1899 he provided the drawings for Frank Baum’s Father Goose, and a year later he won almost instant fame, and wealth, for his illustrations of Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
This view of Easton was the first drawing by W. W. Denslow to be commercially lithographed. He would go one to design another eleven city views between 1876 and 1879 before turning to a rather peripatetic career as an illustrator for newspapers and magazines. In 1899 he provided the drawings for Frank Baum’s Father Goose, and a year later he won almost instant fame, and wealth, for his illustrations of Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
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
86.439
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.