Birch, William "Library and Surgeons Hall, in Fifth Street Philadelphia."

William Birch.  "Library and Surgeons Hall, in Fifth Street Philadelphia." From The City of Philadelphia.  Philadelphia: William Birch, 1804.  Second Edition.  8 1/8 x 10 3/4.  Engraving.  Uncolored.  Margins trimmed to plate mark with faint mat burn. Chips in right margin and upper right hand margin corner, not affecting image.  Otherwise, very good impression. The library building housed the Library Company of Philadelphia that was founded by Benjamin Franklin and a circle of friends in 1731.  Dr. William Thornton was the architect besides being a physician.  Lazzarini’s full length, marble  statue of Franklin graces the niche above the door  In the background and to the right is Surgeon’s Hall which was used in 1792 to 1807 as the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania. The copula allowed light into the interior rooms.  A fine statement on two Philadelphia institutions.   When issued in 1800, William Birch’s prints of Philadelphia formed the first series of views of any A