The description on page 371 reads:
"the government house. "erected in 1790 —taken down in 1815. "the annexed view is a correct representation of the government
house, taken from a large lithographic print, handsomely got up and
colored, for a parlor picture, published by mr. H. R. Robinson, no. 142
nassau street; where copies of the same may be obtained by those who
are fond of relics of " the olden time. "
"the original drawing from which mr. Robinson's engraving was
taken, was made by milbourne, an english artist, in 1797. He was from
london in 1792, and was scene painter for the park theatre. "the government house was erected at the expense of the state of
new-york, and was used for the residence of the governor of the state;
for a time it was occupied by john jay and george clinton, while holding the executive office. From 1799 until 1815, it was used for the custom house of this port. Previous to the former year, the custom
house was located in front, near broad street. "in 1815 the building was taken down, and the site sold for building
lots, by order of the common council of the city, the corporation
having adopted measures for purchasing the building and site in 1805. The lots sold for $164,783, and produced a net gain to the city of over
$80,000, which was owing to the good management of the late thomas
r. Mercein, who was then comptroller. "the government house was a handsome brick edifice, situated at the
foot of broadway, fronting the bowling green, where the row of elegant dwellings now owned by stephen whitney and others now stand. It occupied the grounds where formerly the dutch and english forts,
and subsequently the revolutionary works, were located. "
the credit reads: “lith’d by h. R. Robinson 142 nassau st. N. Y. For d. T. Valentines manual”
valentine's description above is not entirely consistent with the information (from the new york public library) on the page file:the government house, new york 1650665. Jpg. Date: Drawn: 1797. Published in the Manual of 1848..
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