State House, Newport, Rhode Island, Burning of the Gaspee Vignette, circa 1850

This is an original antique steel engraving, uncolored, lettered below the view "STATE HOUSE, NEWPORT." The view shows a broad two story building of brick with a clock set in its central pediment, a balustrade along the roof, and an open cupola above. A balcony over the central doorway looks down a flight of steps onto an open square. At left stand plainer buildings and a covered wagon with several men; at right a large tree and a rail fence. A few figures cross the square.

Above the view, the emblem vignette shows an anchor lying on a rocky shore, wound with a ribbon lettered with the words Liberty of Conscience, with sea, a sailing ship and cliffs behind. Two small scenes are set into the lower corners of the border: at left a two masted vessel burning at sea while a crowded boat pulls away, captioned "BURNING OF THE BRITISH SCHOONER GASPÉE. 1772."; at right soldiers firing in a smoky battle under a flag, captioned "ACTION NEAR QUAKER HILL, ON SULLIVAN'S RETREAT FROM NEWPORT. 1778." The script credit under the lower left corner of the view reads "Drawn by G. Wall." The imprint reads "J. & F. TALLIS, LONDON & NEW YORK."

The plate comes from History of the United States of America, edited by John Howard Hinton (1791 to 1873), the English Baptist minister and author, and published by J. and F. Tallis about 1850. J. and F. Tallis were London publishers of illustrated works sold in parts around the middle of the nineteenth century. The plates of this edition set a central steel engraved view inside an engraved ornamental border with small lettered vignettes of episodes from American history, as here. The Gaspee was a British revenue schooner burned in Rhode Island in 1772.

The anchor emblem and the two Rhode Island episodes make this a natural choice for a Newport collection.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.