Bird's-Eye View of New York 1876 — Antique Map Print

The story of this map

Currier & Ives sold America pictures of itself, and this 1876 view of New York, drawn by Parsons & Atwater, was one of their grandest. This restored print comes from the Library of Congress copy of the coloured lithograph, one of several editions the firm published as the city kept outgrowing the previous one.

The viewpoint is high over the harbour looking north, so the Battery and the dense downtown blocks fill the foreground and Manhattan tapers away into the haze. The rivers are the real subject: paddle steamers, ferries, tugs and square-riggers crowd the East River and the Hudson, each drawn with a little plume of smoke or a set of sails, and the piers along both shores bristle with masts. In the centennial year of 1876 this was the busiest port in the country, and the print makes you feel it.

It is a warm, busy, endlessly readable picture. Hang it where people linger: a dining room, a kitchen wall, an office reception. Anyone who knows the city will hunt for their neighbourhood and find it as open land or a row of new brownstones. It is part of our American Cities collection and pairs naturally with the companion Currier & Ives view of Brooklyn from 1879, or with the Ratzer plan for the long view back.

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 New York City, 1876: 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 1876 map held by the Library of Congress. We never sell originals.

What is actually printed on this map?

Manhattan seen from high above the harbour, with the Battery in the foreground, the Hudson and East rivers crowded with steamers and sailing ships, the whole island stretching away to the north, and the Brooklyn and New Jersey shores at the edges.

How big is the map on the sheet?

The Library of Congress copy measures about 54 x 86 cm, a landscape sheet. It fills a 12x18, 18x24 or 24x36 inch print with a narrow margin, and the 24x36 size shows individual buildings clearly.

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 Brooklyn, 1879

Currier & Ives · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

Ratzer Plan of New York City, 1776

Bernard Ratzer · Library of Congress

$129 24×18 in framed · paper from $35

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
24×16 in	61×41 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
24×18 in	61×46 cm	Above a desk or console, hallway, bedroom
30×20 in	76×51 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 New York City, 1876

Before and after

Restoration notes

Hang them together — 10% off the second framed print