Smith Brothers

Francis Smith (1823-1908), George Warren Smith (1825-1922), David Clifford Smith (1827-1911), and Benjamin Franklin Smith (1830-1927), all of South Freedom, Maine, worked together for a period of eight years producing a series of large folio city views.

Beginning in 1846, George and Francis worked as subscription agents and salesmen for artist Edwin Whitefield, promoting his work of American cities. Benjamin Franklin, the artist of the group, joined his brothers in working for Whitefield in 1849. Together the names Whitefield and Smith appear as publishers of multiple city views over the span of four years. For reasons unknown, Whitefield and the Smith Brothers broke relations by 1850. The Smith Brothers continued to work as their own firm, independent of Whitefield.

Between the years 1850 and 1855, the Smith Brothers' firm published almost thirty lithographic city views. Benjamin Franklin drew six of these views. Other artists employed by the Smith Brothers included John William Hill, Lewis Bradley, George James Robertson, and Charles Parsons. For unknown reasons, the firm abruptly stopped publishing in 1855. The brothers later made their fortune in gold mines, railroads, real estate and stockyards. They retired to Rockport, Maine, by the 1880s.

From the description of Subscription Books, 1840-1855. (American Antiquarian Society). WorldCat record id: 741340648