City of Boston, Harbor View from South Boston, Antique Maritime Engraving, 1870

Boston Harbor from South Boston, an original steel engraving published in London by Cassell and Company, Limited. The plate title "City of Boston" is lettered in script, with "(From South Boston)" beneath it.

The view looks across the harbor from a wharf in the foreground, where two men sit at the edge of the quay and several schooners lie moored with rigging and sails furled. Rowboats pull across the calm water in the left foreground, with men tending a net or bundle of goods. A large square-rigged ship and other sailing vessels ride at anchor beyond, and a steamer sends up smoke at the right. On the far shore the city shows as a low skyline with a domed building and church spires, under a clouded sky.

The plate is one of a series of American city views issued by Cassell for an English readership in the second half of the 19th century. It shows the working harbor of the period, with sail still common beside the first steam vessels.