Charles Burton. "Arcade, Philadelphia." [north side of Chestnut Street between 6th and 7th Streets]. From John H. Hinton’s The History and Topography of the United States of North America.
London: J.T. Hinton & Simpkin & Marshall, 1831. 6 1/8 x 5 (image). Steel engraving Fenner Sears & Co. Very good condition. Charles Willson Peale's Philadelphia Museum.
This marble structure, which was one of the architectural sights of the city when it was erected in 1827, fronted on Chestnut Street. Designed by architect John Haviland, it was introduced as an improvement and competitor to the very popular Burlington Arcade in London. “In some respects,” wrote Joseph Jackson, “the Arcade might be classed as the first office building in the United States.”
Charles Burton, an English artist best known for his attractive views issued in Hinton’s History, was an accomplished draftsman and landscape and portrait painter who lived in America from 1819 to 1842. After painting and exhibiting a number of views of New York City, several of which are said to have been given to Lafayette when he visited the city, and completing his illustrations for Hinton, Burton moved south, working as an instructor in the arts in Baltimore and Virginia.