Phelps' New York City Guide being a Pocket Directory for Strangers and Citizens to the Prominent Objects of Interest in the Great Commercial Environs, with Engravings go Buildings.
By Humphrey F. Phelps
[FIRST EDITION] New York: T.C. Fanning, 1852. Hardcover in publisher's cloth boards stamped with blind and gilt decoration and lettering. 12mo (measures 5.75 x 3.75 inches), 95 pages illustrated with [11] leaves of engravings of New York churches and other buildings. No map, if issued*. Minor dealer penciling on prelims, light wear and soiling to covers, including chipping to front spine hinge, otherwise very good overall condition.
Phelps' New York City Guide: Being a Pocket Directory for Strangers and Citizens was a popular 19th-century guidebook by Humphrey F. Phelps (1799-1875), offering practical info, maps, and details on attractions, churches, institutions, and environs of New York City for both residents and visitors, becoming a valuable historical resource for understanding pre-Civil War NYC and its booming commercial life, with publishers like T.C. Fanning, Ensign & Bridgman, and others issuing editions around the 1850s.
*There is no mention of a map on either the title page or in the Index.