Birch, William "Destroy'd by Fire in 1820. The late Theatre in Chestnut Street Philadelphia. Drawn & Published by W. Birch near Bristol 1804. Gilbert Fox Aquafortus."

William Birch.  "Destroy'd by Fire in 1820. The late Theatre in Chestnut Street Philadelphia. Drawn & Published by W. Birch near Bristol 1804. Gilbert Fox Aquafortus." From The City of Philadelphia.  Philadelphia: William Birch, 1827-28.  Fourth edition.  7 7/8 x 10 ¾.  Engraving.  Hand color. Faint mat burn in margins.  Margins trimmed near plate marks. Else, very good condition.  The Chestnut Street Theater, located on the north side of Chestnut Street west of Sixth, was designed in the Palladian style after the theatre in Bath, England.  This was the principal playhouse in Philadelphia, offering the best plays and actors, and drawing the most distinguished crowds.  The building was destroyed by fire in 1820, and was shortly replaced by another theatre in 1822 called the New Chestnut Street Theatre. When issued in 1800, William Birch’s prints of Philadelphia formed the first series of views of any American city.  As the first comprehensive picture of an American city, illustrati