Rare Photo of Uptown Manhattan Home, Circa 1840, For Auction

Daguerreotype of a country home along "a continuation of Broadway," taken by unknown photographer in October 1848 or earlier. Courtesy Sotheby's.

This daguerreotype by an unidentified photographer, likely taken in October 1848, can be yours for $70,000, give or take a few grand—at least, that's how much it's expected to go for when Sotheby's auctions it off on Monday. The image depicts a country estate somewhere around the equivalent of today's Upper West Side near Bloomingdale Road, 'a continuation of Broadway' which, after 60th Street, wound northwestward through farmland by the Hudson River.

According to Sotheby's, early daguerreotypes depicting parts of New York City are exceedingly rare, and of the few dating from the 1840s and 1850s, all but this one depict buildings in Lower Manhattan. (And only one of those is believed to predate this daguerreotype.) A note in the plate's original leather case reads:

This view, was taken at too great a distance, & from ground 60 or 70 feet lower than the building; rendering the lower Story of the House, & the front Portico entirely invisible. (the handsomest part of the House.) The main road, passes between the two Post & rail fences. (called, a continuation of Broadway 60 feet wide.) It requires a maganifying [sic] glass, to clearly distinguish the Evergreens, within the circular enclosure, taken the last of October, when nearly half of the leaves were off the trees.

Any guesses on what occupies that site today?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in Arts & Entertainment on March 24, 2009 2:56 PM

Comments [rss]

Hell Gate Kid

Broadway hardly went to W 106 Street (what we call B'way today was then 11th Ave)

If we assume that the sunken road in the foreground is Broadway, and the view looks west, then there are only two places that a hill stood between Broadway and the Hudson: W 59 - 62 Street and W 74 - 77 Street.

Now at West 76th Street was the Somerindyke Mansion, which lasted, expanded, until at least 1870s.

Sources: Bromley, Viele, 'Blue Book'

Time: 30 minutes

I like all the references the auction house used. Nothing helpful, but impressive nontheless. Wonder how much they got paid.

deny77

For a great site that might be helpful, go here:

http://www.historicmapworks.com/HistoricalEarth.php

Angelheaded Hipster

That photo was taken by Joe Franklin !

bagelman

great stuff. thanks for sharing. that must be morningside park area

NannyState

My guess too. Because most of the street grid was laid out below that area, in spite of the terrain but to the north, the old farms interrupted that layout for a while.

schizofriendly

I'll keep this in mind if I ever own property. What a great configuration. You could build a moat around it and keep invaders from entering.

Trilby16

Oh man, I don't care about the picture, I just wanna live there!

stargirlinnyc

it's funny that this image was sub-par at the time (taken too far away and too low to show the best features of the house) but is now a "priceless" (or pricey) piece of history.

I'll be holding on to my reject prints from now on - maybe just because they they are shot on film and developed in a darkroom will make them valuable.

The Edge

Jealous much?

scott10130

If you really wanted to know, you might be able to find out where it is located using old fire insurance maps/ normal maps, but I may be incorrect.

SP

The house is probably on the crest of the hill where west end ave is now, and behind it the hill goes back down towards the river.

valeriob

in for two!

SP

Wow, the good old days.

barryap

Don't think the hill is much help. The landscape was fairly well flattened out as development proceeded.

Politburo

My guess (based on arf's hint) is Columbia.

ed_Extinct

The old bloomingdale farm? What is now upper Hell's Kitchen?

pudeljung

I would guess this is the hilly spot north of manhattan valley, so right around the w.90s or 100s?? If Gothamist has any idea, I would love to know.