St Paul’s Chapel
Steeple views such as the Papprill image allowed viewers to see the city laid out before them, including some of the street-level details, but with the added interest of the larger city as it stretched out into the distance, evidence of New York’s growth and prosperity.
Advertisements, signs, and periodicals attracted hordes of people to the commercial districts of Broadway. The fliers and signage depicted here attest to their longevity and ubiquity.
Henry A. Papprill, after John William Hill. New York from the Steeple of St. Paul’s Church, Looking East, South, and West. 1848. Color aquatint and etching, second state of three, published by Henry Megarey, New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954 (54.90.587).
