An 1850 bird's-eye view map of Boston. <i>Source comment</i>: John Bachmann, a German immigrant, was one of the earliest and finest producers of urban bird’s eye views. During his career, he published two views of Boston – one in 1850 and the other in 1877. In this early version, Bachmann viewed the city from the southwest, looking directly at the Public Garden and the Common, with the remainder of the downtown greatly diminished by perspective. While various railroads appear along the edges of this image, the bustling harbor, filled with many ships, occupies the upper center portion of the drawing. Such a perspective highlights the city’s pride in its most prominent public spaces, but it also underscores the importance of shipping to the city’s economy during the first half of the 19th century.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:John_Bachmann" class="extiw" title="w:en:John Bachmann"><span title="Swiss-born lithographer and artist (1814-1896)">John Bachmann</span></a>
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1850
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