BALTIMORE IN 1752

The primary source for Baltimore in 1752 and other similar versions of the scene was a watercolor painted by John Moale Jr.  Moale’s sketch was a primitive rendering that depicted only the existing structures set upon a bare landscape with the suggestion of the river depicted horizontally in the foreground. It bears very little resemblance to the subsequent views that credit Moale for providing the inspiration. In the considerably romanticized printed versions, the designer has attempted to convey a sense of imposed order to the environment by re-arranging the houses, formerly haphazardly dispersed along the shoreline. Numerous roads and fences, absent in the Moale sketch, connect the various tracts of land, and imply effective management of the landscape. The most remarkable aspect of the altered terrain is the manner in which the artist re-adjusted the shoreline of the river so that its banks achieve a perfect rectangular shape. Indicative of the significance of Maryland’s waterways, the river forms the central focus of the image. Along the shoreline are precise, neatly planted rows of tobacco that reflect of the importance of the crop to the economy. The ship on the river and the dock along the banks forecast Baltimore’s future as the most dominant city in the Chesapeake.