Name/Title
GATHERING GRAPES--AN OCTOBER SCENE ON THE HUDSONEntry/Object ID
L.2007.271Description
After noting wild grapes growing along the Hudson River Valley, a few ambitious vintners established vineyards in the early 19th century. Their hope was to rival California and even European imports, and by 1867, Peter B. Mead in his book An Elementary Treatise on American Grape Culture described the great progress that had been made toward that goal and asserted that before long "our best wines, will possess a fruity bouquet natural to but a few of the wines of Europe--a bouquet.. which will make our wines sought after by connoisseurs."
According to the short article that accompanied this image of workers harvesting, the setting was the vinyard of Dr. R. T. Underhill at Croton Point, Westchester Country. Dr Underhill had a tract of sixty acres under cultivation. Dr. Underhill won many awards, and both he and his sons promoted the American grape industry and developed new grape varieties. Many other vinyards existed along the river at Hasting, Dobb's Ferry, in the Highlands and other locations.
Page from Harper's Weekly with a wood engraving of a busy river scene inset with a second river scene at night oriented horizontally: a line of text along the top separated from the image with two lines reads, "680; HARPER'S WEEKLY.; [OCTOBER 26, 1867."; on a hill sloping towards the Hudson River, rows of grape vines supported by wood and wire fences; in the center foreground two men, one holding a basket on his shoulder, the other picking grapes; behind them, a man and a woman in conversation next to a row of tall, thin trees; to the right of the trees is a winding path on which a horse-drawn cart filled with baskets moves away from the viewer; below the scene, printed: "GATHERING GRAPES- AN OCTOBER SCENE ON THE HUDSON. -SKETCHED BY D.C. HITCHCOCK.- [SEE FIRST PAGE.]"; recto: a page of text with one small illustration.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
DeWitt C. HitchcockAttribution
ArtistManufacturer
Harper's WeeklyDate made
Oct 26, 1867Dimensions
Dimension Description
OverallHeight
16 inWidth
11-1/8 inDimension Notes
Display Dimensions: 16 x 11 1/8 in. (40.6 x 28.3 cm)Condition
Notes
Remarks: Some areas of yellow stain throughout the image; tear, bottom left; crease and small tears along right edge; paper slightly wrinkled; hinged to mat with two pieces of yellowing adhesive tape in left corners.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
William DieboldNotes
Former ownerGeneral Notes
Note Type
Curatorial RemarksNote
Diebold Box #4Note Type
General NoteNote
Underhill advertising cards survive in the collection of the Westchester Historical Society. This text appears with in the online cataloging of the images:
"The Underhill family was one of the earliest and most prominent in Westchester County’s history. Robert Underhill purchased Croton Point in 1804, and his son Richard eventually developed the property into a very successful vineyard and winery, with underground wine cellars built into the hillside on the property. Underhill and his sons’ grapes won many awards, and the family was known both for promoting the American grape industry and for developing new varieties of grapes. By 1873 the vineyards had fallen into decline, as the family turned its interest to the local brick industry. The wines remaining in the vaults were sold by Thurber & Co. of New York."Note Type
StorageNoteNote
Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Administrative Office, Archive Room, Shelf O3, B9Note Type
DepartmentNote
Library