J. HENRY HILL 1882 Hackensack Valley etching

[BLeafe]

 http://cgi.ebay.com/J-HENRY-HILL-orig-1882-USA-etching-Hackensack-Valley-/400155584055?pt=UK_art_prints_GL&hash=item5d2b21a637


Description:

Plate 19 from the 1882 issue of The Etcher

This etching is in very good condition although there may be some minor defects (nicks, stains creases etc) in the outer margin. It is printed on thickish laid paper 275x375mm, plate size 151x237mm.

J Henry Hill was an established 19th century American artist. The Hackensack valley is in New Jersey, west of New York City and south of New York State. Around 1880 was an important time for original printmaking in Britain with the Royal Society of Painter Etchers being established and many professional painters trying their hand at etching. Original etchings were issued in several publications such as Portfolio, English Etchings and The Etcher from 1879-1884. The quality of these etchings I am offering from The Etcher is better than many I have seen in other publications.



.

[just watching]

Is this a romantic rendering, not true to form, or is this an actual sketch of the scenery.

OK, I'm going to guess that the church is the Church on The Green.

If so, where would the field in the foreground be ?  Teaneck or the hill in Hackensack ?

[just watching]

I just confirmed that the steeple is on the south side of the Church on The Green.  Which means the etching is facing east or southeast.  Which means the field in the foreground is somewhere near Prospect Avenue, maybe near what is now the medical center, and looking down the hill.

Here's the problem:  The hill in the background, on the right side, is what puzzles me.  I'm not seeing it, I'm not believing it.   So this has me doubting how much of the scenery is the artist's imagination, and how much is real.  Assuming that I have the right church.

[Homer Jones]

I believe that the answer here lies in the description of the etching where reference is made to "the Hackensack Valley". If Ol' Homer's cerebral parts are still working, the Hackensack Valley was not a specifically defined geographical area; but, was a more generally described area not only including the City of Hackensack; but, large areas north of Hackensack along the Hackensack River.
There was a book published quite a few moons ago  detailing some of the  Revolutionary War activities in the Hackensack Valley which had maps of the area.
If in fact the Church shown on the etching were the Church on the Green, then South Hackensack would have been located on top of the hill on the right side. Not that I remember.
Better bet would be that the artist was looking down from a hill west of what is now Kinderkamack Road into what could have logically been the Hackensack valley. Perhaps northern River Edge or Oradell.