NATHANIEL CURRIER Ravenswood. Long Island near Hallett's Cove. New York, circa 1845. Lithographed view of Long Island City, 2 sheets, approximately 19x50 inches; light creases, small hole with minor loss,some staining where the sheets are joined.

NATHANIEL CURRIER Ravenswood. Long Island near Hallett's Cove. New York, circa 1845. Lithographed view of Long Island City, 2 sheets, approximately 19x50 inches; light creases, small hole with minor loss,some staining where the sheets are joined. E2,000/3,000 Printed on extraordinarily thin paper, this lithograph may well be a proof of theeventual print. The view of Long Island City, picturing 11 houses in the background and a water scene with four boats in the foreground, probably never existed; the print was made for architect Alexander Jackson Davis as a proposed plan of the area. Davis, known for his Greek and Gothic revival styles, was one of New York's most successfulmid-19th century architects, designing the U.S. Custom House on Wall Street and the first planned suburban community in New Jersey. In the late 1830s, developers purchased the area now known as Long Island City and began levelling it and laying out roads. It seems likely thatDavis contracted Currier to lithograph this view to accompany a proposal to the developers. This print is quite scarce. Harry Peters in his checklist of Currier and Ives prints only notes a small versionof this view (#4108).