Cornelius Tiebout Engravings

Part 2. Engravings in The New York Magazine, 1790-1793

The New York Magazine; or, Literary Repository, published in New York City by the firm of T. and J. Swords, included twelve Cornelius Tiebout engravings in 1790, thirteen in 1791, twelve in 1792, and ten in 1793, with years, months, and titles shown below. The last of these was published in the October 1793 issue. That date and a letter dated 21 October 1793 suggest that Tiebout's arrival in London, where he resided until early in 1796, occurred late in 1793.

The Magazine, whose subscribers included George Washington, John Adams, and John Jay, is considered "one of the four most important magazines of its time... illustrated with costly copperplate engravings." Invariably, the title page of each monthly issue includes a line or two promoting the included engraving.

Among the Cornelius Tiebout engravings in The New York Magazine are ten based on watercolor paintings by Henry Livingston. These can be viewed, with details, at Livingston's Published Drawings.

Volume 1, 1790

JanAn E. View of Trinity Church N York
FebThe Unfortunate Mistake
MarPerspective View of the Federal Edifice
AprView of the Bastile [sic]
MayView of Columbia College in the City of New York
JunA View of the present Seat of his Excel the Vice President of the United States
JulA View of the Monument at Sandy Hook
AugA View of the Light House at Sandy Hook
SepA View of Hell Gate
OctView of the Town of St. Peter & St. Paul
NovMount Aetna
DecA Map Showing the Communication of the Lakes and the Rivers between Lake Superior and Slave Lake in North America (Left Half) and (Right Half)
DecClose-up of signature on map

Volume 2, 1791

JanTomb of Madam Langhans
FebDresses of the Women in the Isle of Nio
MarWest Point Viewed from the North
AprStory of Henry & Anne
MayThe Seat of Henry Livingston Esq at Poughkeepsie
JunThe Steep Rocks on the West Wide of Hudson's River
JulA Map of the Ground & different routes from Newark to Paulus Hook
AugView of Shelburne Light House
SepStorm
OctView of the Celebrated Fortifications
NovDespair
NovMethod of mending shrouds and other ropes
DecA View of the Maelstroom on the Coast of Norway

Volume 3, 1792

JanMr Millbray taking a Last View
FebTaming of the Shrew
MarThe Cornish Lovers
AprRepresentation of Curbs &c used in Experiments for procuring Wells of Fresh Water
MayEsquimaux Indians of Hudson's Bay
JunPlan of the City of Washington
JulThe Vision of Cosrou
AugThe Saw-Mill of Henry Livingston Junr. Near Poughkeepsie
SepView of the New Presbyterian Church, Newark, New Jersey
OctA View of the Seat of the Hon Selah Strong
NovAdonis
DecIsaiah

Volume 4, 1793

JanJ. Ankarstrom, the Regicide
FebBush-Hill
MarA View on the Mohawk River
AprEdwin & Angelina
MayA View of the Falls of Schuylkill
JunOctavia, Portia, & Arria
JulThe Continence of Scipio
AugAlcanzor and Zayda
SepThe Ring of Amurath
OctThe Babes in the Wood

Notes

Rarely did Tiebout sign his engravings with "del" in addition to "sc or sculp", thereby signifying that he was not only the engraver, but also the artist. One of the exceptions is "Despair", in the November 1791 issue.

The above listing of Tiebout's engravings is based on several sources, which, unfortunately, do not agree in some cases. These sources include the standard catalogues of American engravers and their works: Stauffer, Fielding, and the catalogs of the American Antiquarian Society. For example, some of the engravings, clearly stated on the title page to be published in an issue of the Magazine, do not appear in that issue. In some cases, they are found in a different issue, and in others, they do not appear in any issue that appears in the Internet Archive, especially for volume 3, 1792. Following are links to the four volumes:

Volume 1790, Volume 1791, Volume 1792, Volume 1793.

The texts in these volumes provide interesting contexts for the engravings, such as stories, inventions, and landscapes, even when the engravings are missing. Perhaps the missing engravings had been published on separate sheets that were not available when the pages were digitized.

Several of the engravings shown below are repeated in Part 6 (Buildings, Landscapes, Ships, Battle Scenes), with details.