Item Types Engraving

A type of art popular during the 18th century, it features a design cut into a metal or wood surface and then inked and printed on paper.

Philadelphia from Belmont, West Park (Picturesque America)

Schuylkill River above Belmont (Picturesque America)

Fairmount Water Works (Picturesque America)

Appletons' Journal Schuylkill, 1869

Fairmount and Schuylkill, Appletons’ Journal, 1869

Wire Bridge at Fairmount

Schuylkill Navigation lock at Fairmount (Picturesque America)

Schuylkill River at Landsdowne

Schuylkill River at Lansdowne (Picturesque America)

Fairmount Gardens, with the Schuylkill Bridge. This 1839 engraving, published in London, shows a view of the South Garden from the walkways that brought visitors up the cliffside to the overlooks at the height of the reservoirs. The fountain used the pressure of the reservoirs and was a a delightful refreshment in hot weather, and a wonder at all times. One anachronistic element of this engraving is the Upper Ferry Bridge, which burned the year before the print was published. Harding’s Hotel, a popular resort, is at the western end of the bridge.

Fairmount Gardens with the Schuylkill Bridge, 1839

Centre Square Engine House, location of one of two steam engines used in the city’s original water system. Engraving by Birch.

Centre Square Engine House, ca. 1807

Ornate black-and-white title page to the 1836 sheet music for The Fairmount Quadrilles

The Fairmount Quadrilles, 1836

Fountain and stand-pipe, 1875 (2004.007.0006)

Fairmount Water Works, with “Nymph and Bittern” fountain and standpipe, 1875