Accession number:
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65-230
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Record number:
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65-230-30
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JCB call number:
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*D800 B617 / 1-SIZE (copy 2)
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Image title:
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Preparation for War to defend Commerce. The Swedish Church Southwark with the building of the Frigate Philadelphia.
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Creator 1:
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William Birch & son
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Creator 1 role:
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Drawn Engraved & Published by
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Place image published:
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Philadelphia
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Image publisher:
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Sold by R. Campbell & Co. No: 30 Chesnut Street
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Image date:
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1800
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Image function:
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plate [29]
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Technique:
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engraving, hand coloring
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Image dimension height:
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23.2 cm.
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Image dimension width:
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29.3 cm.
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Page dimension height:
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33.9 cm.
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Page dimension width:
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40.9 cm.
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Materials medium:
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ink, colors
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Materials support:
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paper
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Languages:
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English
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Description:
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View of a shipyard with men building a warship using cross saw, axes or adzes, pullies and levers. Built environment includes ramp, dwellings, sentry box, and church.
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Source creator:
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Birch, William & Son
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Source Title:
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The city of Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania North America: as it appeared in the Year 1800 consisting of twenty eight plates
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Source place of publication:
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[Philadelphia]
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Source publisher:
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Published by W. Birch, Springland Cot, near Neshaminy Bridge on the Bristol Road
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Source date:
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1800
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notes:
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Birch wrote in his introduction that this last plate was meant to represent Philadelphia in "the exertion of naval architecture to protect" commerce. The frigate Philadelphia was built at Humphreys' shipyard in response to the United States preparations to defend its commerce in the Mediterranean. No longer under the protection of the British royal navy or the alliance with France, American merchantmen were forced to pay annual tribute to the Barbary states to sail in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1801, the pasha of Tripoli declared war on the United States and a naval "squadron of observation" consisting of three frigates--the President, the Philadelphia, and the Essex--and a sloop was sent by President Thomas Jefferson to the Barbary coast. The Philadelphia ran aground in the Tripoli harbor and was captured. Stephen Decatur boarded her in 1804 and burned her to keep the warship from falling into the hands of the enemy. The church in the background, Gloria Dei or Old Swedes' Church, was built between 1698 and 1700.
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Time Period:
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1751-1800
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References:
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Teitelman, S. R. Birch's Views of Philadelphia, plate 29; Snyder, M.P. "William Birch," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 73, p. 271-315; Shadwell, W.J. American Printmaking, 88; http://www.mariner.org/usnavy/06/06a.htm (Feb. 2004)
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Provenance/Donor:
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Acquired in 1965.
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Owner and copyright:
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©John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I. 02912
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geographic area:
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North America
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Subject Area:
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Artifacts, industry, and human activities
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Subject Area:
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Geography, maps, city views and plans
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Subject headings:
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Philadelphia (Pa.)--Pictorial works
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