[Philadelphia] Beck, G(eorge). Philadelphia, from the Great Tree at Kensington, under which Penn made his Great Treaty with the Indians

London & Philadelphia: Atkins & Nightingale, Jan. 1, 1801. Hand-colored aquatint engraving, printed by T. Cartwright, London. Laid down on paper; mat burn; soiling and repairs along edges; large repaired tear at bottom, traversing image area; dampstaining along margins, but not affecting image area; some repaired tears with small areas of infilling. 20 1/4 x 26 1/8 in. (514 x 663 mm). In mat and in frame. Deak 229; Snyder, Mirror of America 580

A rare and desirable view of Philadelphia, showing the Great Elm at Shackamaxon where William Penn made his treaty with the Lenni Lenape Nation in 1682. "In George Beck's rendering the 'Treaty Elm' looms large over a view of Philadelphia's harbor. The tree is robust and richly foliated; its massive trunk and dense leaves are given a buoyant rendering in the aquatint medium. Perhaps the grandiose proportions and fertile appearance of the tree were meant by the artist to project something of the vitality and growth that had characterized Philadelphia's early history." (Deak) The tree was uprooted during a storm in 1810, reported in Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, “During the tremendous gale of Monday night last, the Great Elm Tree at Kensington…was torn up by the roots. The celebrated tree…is at length prostrated to the dust!”

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

[Philadelphia] Beck, G(eorge). Philadelphia, from the Great Tree at Kensington, under which Penn made his Great Treaty with the Indians