New Bedford Fifty Years Ago Lithograph by Wall, William Allen - 1857

Very Good. 1857. Lithograph. A lithograph with watercoloring based on an 1857 oil painting by New Bedford artist William Allen Wall. Mounted on a backing board, with a lighter spot on the right margin and a dampstain on the lower edge. 18" x 25 1/2" with an image area of 14 3/4" x 17 3/4". This variant print has no lithographer or artist listed, and the title is stenciled differently than in known 1858 prints by lithographer Charles Taber. The date 1857 is stenciled under the title by hand. There is one major difference in the background details between this copy and later lithographs. On the left side two horses are next to a mound of some sort, and in this print the fence around the mound is absent. No other copies are found with the fence absent. Other details appear the same, with differences in the water coloring and toning of the paper. We are guessing that this may have been from the original lithographic plate, possibly an early proof, with the fence detail added in after this printing, making this a very rare pre-production issue. The 1858 lithograph itself is not common, with only two copies found on OCLC, one at the Boston Athanaeum and one in Australia. William Allen Wall (1801-1885) made a living painting portraits and later the landscapes of New Bedford for which he is best known. Wall depicted New Bedford as it would have looked in 1808, and he named all of the early historical figures he portrays in the scene, showing the corner of Union and Water streets. On buildings are the business names of J. Boswerth Boot and Shoemaker and L. Macomber Boots and Shoes. On the back of the mount is some writing in orange including the street names and the name Jahaziel Jenney. Jahaziel Jenney's store is labeled, and he is the iron-footed man in front of it. Three African-Americans are in the foreground, with abolitionist and whaling captain Paul Cuffee among them. Wall himself is portrayed as the driver of a cart. Included for reference is the book Whale Fishery of New England (Boston 1915) , which contains a section on New Bedford and the painting. ; .