City Watchman

William P. Chappel

1870s · Oil on slate paper · The American Wing

A watchman, armed with his stick and leather helmet, sets out on a snowy evening patrol from his Elizabeth Street sentry box. So-called leatherheads looked out for fires and criminal activity, such as break-ins and grave robberies. Before New York City established a professional police force in the 1840s, residents relied on a patchwork system of constables, marshals, and watchmen tasked with maintaining order in an increasingly unruly city. An inscription on the reverse of this image identifies the building to the right of the box as the Old Methodist Meeting House and those to the left as the homes of a cabinetmaker, a ward inspector, and a grocer.

Artist

William P. Chappel

Date

1870s

Medium

Oil on slate paper

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

The Edward W. C. Arnold Collection of New York Prints, Maps, and Pictures, Bequest of Edward W. C. Arnold, 1954