Description
Jefferson, Wisconsin, became a city in 1878 having been incorporated as a village in 1857. The Rock River and Crawfish River both flow through Jefferson, Wisconsin. The Crawfish River is a tributary of the Rock River, with the two rivers meeting within the city. The Rock River eventually empties into the Mississippi River. The locale of the scene in the view relative to these rivers can be better understood as shown in a larger overall view of Jefferson published in 1870, also in the collection of the Library of Congress.
Louis Kurz, an Austrian-born American lithographer, was active in Milwaukee in the 1850s and 1860s before relocating to Chicago, where he formed an early partnership with Alexander Seifert under the name Kurz & Seifert. The firm specialized in producing lithographic town views across the Midwest. This partnership preceded Kurz’s more widely known collaboration with Alexander Allison in Chicago, where he later co-founded the firm Kurz & Allison, best known publication of a large number of chromolithographs of Civil War battles, as well as other historical prints. This earlier view of Jefferson created during the Kurz & Seifert years offers a quieter but no less vivid depiction of American life.
Printed title, lower center: “Jefferson, Wis.”
Condition: Generally good with the usual overall light toning, wear, handling. Faint damp stain into image in upper left, visible but unobtrusive.
References:
“Publisher Kurz and Allison.” AHPCS. “https://ahpcs.org/publisher/kurz-allison-et-al/#:~:text=Louis%20Kurz%20(1835*%2D1921,was%20working%20in%20Milwaukee%2C%20Wisconsin (10 July 2025).
“View Jefferson Wisconsin.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003656930/ (10 July 2025).
