Babylon

Around 1700 B.C.E., Babylon, in the center of modern day Iraq, was the largest city in the world. Its reputation as a large and bustling city is so persistent that other great metropolises are liked to it. In this small print, Samuel Margolies suggests the breathtaking scale and complexity of New York City. Our view is that of a co-worker of the man painting the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge while suspended from a rope. Margolies made this for the Miniature Print Society whose members must have appreciated his ability to convey so much in such a small format.