1859
Maker: Coolidge / Mansfield
Antique illustration from A History and Description of New England Vol. 1 by Austin Jacobs Coolidge and John Brainard Mansfield, 1859. This page has an engraving of part of Crawford Notch in New Hampshire with descriptive text. Northern New England experienced a drought in the summer of 1826, which ended with the arrival of a terrific storm on the evening of August 28. Flooding followed, with the valley at Crawford Notch being one place that suffered the consequences. All but two of the bridges on the turnpike that ran through the notch were destroyed, trees suffered a similar fate and the high sides of the valley were gouged by swollen streams and landslides. The Willey House was a scene of desolation due to the effects of an avalanche on a mountain behind it. The house, however, had survived in an island of calm because the surging debris split either side on a low ridge and then unified again beyond it. Almost the entire Willey family unfortunately perished. The location drew tourists for about 15 years, come to see the destruction. The text can be folded under a mat when framing. Could be hand-colored by our professional colorist for $20. Could be matted for $15. Please contact us if you are interested in matting or coloring. Very good antique condition with mild toning that is darker at the page edges and paper loss along lower right side without affecting image or text. Image measures approx. 3.75 x 4.5 inches and the page measures approx. 10 x 6.25 inches. Note: any "rainbows" or strange patterns in the image are called moire pattern- caused by taking a digital photo or scan of the many parallel lines in the print- these are not in the print and we can try to take more photos if you are concerned.
Item Number: NHA415