City of Manilla

Description

hand-coloured steel engraving. RARE view from ‘Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition’, new edition.

From observations made during 1838–1842, one of the most important American scientific and surveying voyages of the 19th century.
Depicting the colonial capital from the waterfront, the image captures Manila at a time when it was the principal administrative and commercial centre of the Spanish Philippines and a key port in trans-Pacific trade.