The last twenty-five years of Birch’s life were in many ways professionally disappointing. Yet throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century, Birch’s vision of the city and its environs began to find its place in the city’s iconography whether reproduced on high quality porcelain, as book illustrations, or as inexpensive mass produced pieces of ephemera. Birch’s work as an enamel painter also received recognition in the art world. William Birch’s legacy has been far-reaching and long-lasting. An example are these two vases on loan to the Library Company from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Tucker Factory, Pair of vases ornamented with views from Birch’s Country Seats. (Philadelphia, ca. 1827). Glazed porcelain with enamel and gilt decoration. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Miss Mary Lea Perot, 1958.
