New York: South Street, New York in 1874 (Daylight)

This very rare print by John Stobart was an edition of only 250. It was printed by Kennedy Galleries in 1967! It was printed in England by Westerham Press. It has never been framed or matted. Pristine condition

This is a typical summer scene on South Street, looking north toward the Erie Railroad wharf. As I painted it I imagined hearing the cries of vendors, the jolting of drays and wagons over the sandy ground, and the chatter of busy merchants and shipping men.

In this painting, several blue water traders are moored at the fingerlike docks. Many other types of vessels also callled at South Street. As early as the 1850s, commuters were carried by steamboats such as the Sylvan Glen from East 130th Street in Harlem Village to Peck Slip along South Street. There were also shipyards located on the East River; the most famous was the William H. Webb yard between Fifth and Seventh Streets. The Young America, one of the longest lived of the well known large extreme clippers, was built by Webb and launched here in 1853.

In 1876, at the time of this scene, the East River was a busy waterway for lighters, schooners, ferries and tugs. A tug was usually required to tow an incoming or outgoing ship through the fierce currents of the river.

In the nineteenth century South Street was one of the busiest “watery crossroads” of the world, and today, with the restoration of some of the old streets in the in the area and the big Cape Horners, Peking and jWavertree moored at the docks of the South Street Seaport Museum, a new generation is rediscovering the flavor of the past.