Bird's-Eye View of Brooklyn 1879 — Antique Map Print

The story of this map

In 1879 Brooklyn was still its own city, the third largest in the United States, and it wanted a portrait to prove it. Currier & Ives obliged with this bird’s-eye view drawn by Charles R. Parsons. Our restored print is made from the coloured lithograph in the Library of Congress.

The artist floats you over the East River looking down onto the Brooklyn shore. The waterfront is a continuous wall of piers, warehouses and moored ships; behind it the streets of Brooklyn Heights and the neighbourhoods beyond climb away in neat rows, with church spires and the odd factory chimney breaking the roofline. Ferries stitch the two shores together, each with its wake drawn in, and Manhattan lies across the water at the top of the sheet. Every block is drawn building by building, which is why people spend so long in front of this one.

This is the print for a Brooklyn apartment, a brownstone hallway or anyone who left and misses it. The palette is soft, mostly warm greys and brick reds with the blue of the river, and it sits happily with modern furniture. It belongs to our American Cities collection and is the obvious companion to the Currier & Ives view of New York from 1876, which shows the same river from the other side.

Printed to order on archival matte paper and framed in the country of delivery.

Before and after

Left: the archive scan exactly as published. Right: the file that goes to the printer.

Bird's-Eye View of Brooklyn, 1879: archive scan compared with the restored print

Archive scanRestored

Restoration notes

Restoration plan: crop scan margins, balance colour cast and levels while keeping the paper tone, remove library stamps and scanner artefacts if present, gentle sharpening. No repainting of original content.

Every print carries its archive credit on the packing slip. Paper tone and small imperfections of the original are kept on purpose; nothing is redrawn.

Questions

Is this an original antique map?

No. It is a new archival print of a restored high-resolution scan of the 1879 map held by the Library of Congress. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on this map?

The independent City of Brooklyn seen from above the East River: the waterfront piers and warehouses, the streets of Brooklyn Heights and the neighbourhoods behind them, ferries crossing the river and the Manhattan shore across the water.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The Library of Congress copy measures about 53 x 86 cm. It is a landscape sheet and fills the 12x18, 18x24 and 24x36 inch formats with a narrow margin.

Does it come framed?

Yes, if you choose a framed option. Framed prints are made and framed in the country of delivery in a black, white or natural oak frame; you can also order the paper print alone or a stretched canvas.

Colours vary between screens and paper. The tone you see here is a close match to the archival matte print; framed prints have no glass glare in these previews.

Pairs well with

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print

Bird's-Eye View of New York City, 1876

Currier & Ives · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Viele Water Map of Manhattan, 1865

Egbert Viele · Library of Congress

$149 36×12 in framed · paper from $59

The discount is applied automatically at checkout when two or more framed prints are in the cart.

Size	Metric	Best for
16×12 in	41×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
18×12 in	46×30 cm	Desk, shelf, small wall, gallery groupings
20×16 in	51×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
20×20 in	51×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×24 in	61×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×20 in	76×51 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
30×24 in	76×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
32×24 in	81×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
36×24 in	91×61 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
40×30 in	102×76 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office
48×32 in	122×81 cm	Over a sofa or bed, statement wall, office

Bird's-Eye View of Brooklyn, 1879

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print