Places
Places near and far, real and make-believe adorned transfer-printed wares. An early nineteenth-century mug features the banner "The World in Planisphere." It symbolically encouraged users to hold the entire world in their hands (cat. 28). Scenes of exotic chinoiserie landscapes depicted far-away sights that only existed in the Western imagination. In contrast, realistic representations of a specific place like the Erie Canal (ca. 1825) or the Park Theatre in New York (ca. 1825) reinforced consumers' pride in their own states, cities, and towns.

Distant Places

America Septentrionalis, engraved by Jan Jansson (Dutch, 1588–1664) with hand coloring, ca. 1640

Mug, "The World in Planisphere," with hand coloring, ca. 1830

Platter, "Arctic Scenery," ca. 1835