Catalogue Entry

This hand-colored lithograph shows the Great Conflagration that ravaged the commercial and waterfront district of Saint John, New Brunswick, in January 1837. The print is an excellent example of the collaborative nature of commercial lithography during Fitz Henry Lane’s lifetime.

The scene was first sketched by Thomas H. Wentworth, an itinerant portrait and landscape artist who also made engravings of his own work. His son, William Henry Wentworth, refined the sketch which was then made available to Lane who refined it still further in preparation for printing. Thomas Moore copyrighted the print in 1838, suggesting that he was the publisher. The scene is a dramatic one filled with people looking on, household furnishings salvaged from the flames piled in the foreground and billowing clouds of smoke and flames filling the sky. The intended audience for the  lithograph was probably the residents of Saint John.

• Subject Types: 
  • Townscape »
• Seasons / Weather: 
  • Moon »
• Other Locales: 
  • Canada: St. John, New Brunswick »
• Animals & People: 
  • Children »
  • Livestock (horse / sheep / cow) »
  • Women »
• Objects: 
  • Barrel »
  • Wagon / Cart »
• Building Types: 
  • Commercial Building »