View of New Harmony

Description

Bodmer may have executed this watercolor of New Harmony in Europe. Although unpublished, it was possibly intended for inclusion in the atlas illustrating the various editions of Maximilian's travel account. In this account, Maximilian described New Harmony and related something of its history, noting that it had been founded by the same George Rapp who in 1832 was living at Economy near Pittsburgh. Maximilian mentioned the existence of a steam sawmill, two distilleries, a brewery, and a cigar factory, adding that "large quantities of whiskey, pork, and beef in barrels, as well as Indian corn, are shipped from here on flatboats to New Orleans."