Central Park

A Guide to the Central Park, with a Map of the Proposed Im-provements.
New York: C. M. Saxton, Barker & Co., 1859

Because so little of the Park had been completed by 1859, this guide spends much time on the park movement; the choice of the central property rather than Jones’s Woods; the current work; a description of the design; directions on how to get to the park; and mention of the few things actually open, such as the Ramble. A Supplement dated Dec. 13, 1859, advises readers that on December 12 the whole lower Park, south of 79th Street, was open to visitors.

T. Addison Richards. Guide to the Central Park.
New York: Published by James Miller, 522 Broadway, 1866

James Miller was the publisher of one of the longest-running New York City guides, 1859–early 1880s. It is not surprising that he issued a Central Park guide also, this time hiring an author, T. Addison Richards, a landscape artist and writer from the South who was working in New York. The topographical map of the Park claims to show “improvements to June 1865.” It is still early days for the Park, and the last page of the book describes some of the things to come, such as Zoological Garden, Flower Garden, and Park Gates. The Guide was published from 1866 to 1875.

[ Julian K. Larke Esq.]. Central Park Guide/Published by Isaac Davega [cover title]; Davega’s Hand Book of Central Park [title page title]; Baldwin’s Hand-book of Central Park [running title through book].
n.p., n.d.

This book is a bibliographical puzzle. The cover and title page are different, “Central Park Guide” vs. “Davega’s Hand Book of Central Park,” while the running title at the top of every page reads “Baldwin’s Hand-book of Central Park.” The author attribution (Julian K. Larke) comes from a comment in the Preface on page 2 of the book. While there is no date for the book, the date of Nov. 1865 in one advertisement and mention of the Civil War of 1861–65 in the text suggests a date of 1866 or later.

Charles Magnus. Central Park Scenery
New York: Charles Magnus, 61 Bowery, n.d. [letter sheet].

Charles Magnus was a prolific publisher of pictorial letter sheets, depicting cities and subjects around the U.S. but especially New York City. This sheet is unusual for the number of vignettes of Central Park it contains.

Department of Public Parks. Central Park. Central Park Carriage Service, Organized 1869.
New York: Department of Public Parks, 1889 [folding advertisement]

This folding sheet was issued in the mid- to late-1880s with information about the Carriage Service in the Park and other information about the Park.

C. O. Smith. The Illustrated and Historical Souvenir of Central Park.
New York: Wm. F. Smith & Co., 10 East 14th St., n.d. [c.1890s].

A viewbook and guide, with considerable text, covering not only Central Park but also the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. These two institutions occupy 22 of the 54 pages, including numerous photographs of both.