Six Months in America

Godfrey T. Vigne's lively travel narrative begins with a solitary Atlantic crossing from Liverpool to New York in 1831, where he sets out to see the United States with as little prejudice as possible. From the packet ship George Canning and the harbor approach through the Narrows to Broadway's bustle, he weighs New York's maritime power, commerce, public buildings, theatres, and mixed social manners, finding the city's true distinction in its relentless trade rather than its architecture. He then follows the river and steamer routes toward Philadelphia, contrasting American mobility with rough inland roads and a landscape still being cleared and recast. Along the way he visits Joseph Buonaparte at Bordentown, admiring his resemblance to Napoleon and his remarkable art collection. In Philadelphia, Vigne praises the city's order, civic institutions, and concern for education, then offers discerning criticism of the Academy of Fine Arts, urging American artists beyond portraiture toward grander historical subjects drawn from their own past. He also tours the Schuylkill water-works, botanical gardens, a porcelain manufactory, museums, and the vast penitentiary, reflecting on engineering, reform, and the nation's rapid transformation. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.