This lithograph of Washington, made by German immigrant Edward Sachse in 1859, captures one of the most striking city views of the 19th century. His Baltimore-based firm made bird’s-eye engravings of dozens of places in the mid-Atlantic. In this magisterial effort, Sachse records such details as the new fountain on the far side of the Capitol, the canal beyond it, and Alexandria across the river in the distance. The print is not a completely accurate depiction of the view, however, likely because elements of it were not drawn from life. The Capitol lacks the low copper domes that stood over the old House and Senate Chambers for decades. The big new dome—designed but not completed when Sachse engraved this—was never green. Likewise, the Washington Monument appears as it was originally designed, with complicated columns around the base.
