A Rare 19th View of Phoenix, Arizona

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A Rare 19th View of Phoenix, Arizona

About the Item

CJ Dyer (1846-1903). Bird's eye View of Phoenix, Maricopa Co., Arizona. View Looking Northeast. Lithographed by W Byrnes, Schmidt Label & Litho Co. Phoenix, ca. 1885 Czar James Dyer's view of Phoenix Arizona bird’s-eye- view was made during a time of rapid growth for the city. In John Reps' highly important book Lithographs of towns and cities in the United States and Canada, notes on the artists and publishers, and a union catalog of their work, 1825-1925, he declares this piece to be "extremely rare, attractive, and brilliantly printed city view". Although he was an authentic Arizona pioneer, Dyer was born in Jackson, Michigan. At the age of 18, Dyer enlisted in the United States Navy. He served during the Civil War from August 20, 1864, to July 28, 1865 as a 'powder monkey' aboard the U.S.S. Mattabassett. After his year of service in the Union Navy, Dyer's travels took him to California, where the Gold Rush was still drawing many prospectors. The federal census of 1880 shows C. J. Dyer residing in Oakland, Alameda County, California, in the household of Frank and Nellie Jones. He gave his age as 31 and his occupation as 'artist'. Shortly thereafter, he moved to the Arizona Territory. It was the booming mining industry near Prescott that first captured his adventurous spirit. Within a few years, his restless yearnings lured him further south to the prospering settlement of Phoenix. Phoenix was founded in 1867. The original townsite selected was between Van Buren Street on the north and Harrison Street on the south, with Seventh Street on the east and Seventh Avenue on the west. A visitor to the little outpost in 1868 observed "...about 50 persons who...displayed great energy..."living in Phoenix. It is not known exactly when Dyer came to Phoenix, but by the time he began to be recognized in the settlement along the Salt River, the population of Phoenix had grown to 1,208 inhabitants. Clearly, he had arrived on the scene as Phoenix was in a period of rapid growth and development. A personable fellow, "C. J.", as he was popularly known, made the acquaintance of many key individuals in town, thus immediately involving himself in local commerce and government affairs. An artist, specifically a cartographer by profession, Dyer was soon appointed official mapmaker for the growing city. C. J. Dyer served as a two-term city councilman from the second ward during the mid-1880s, and an interim mayor for three and a half months in 1889. He died in Phoenix on March 28, 1903, at the age of 52.

Creator:
CJ Dyer (Artist)
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1885
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: 1309128889266