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 107  4 Years Abroad— “Picturesque Europe” and “Picturesque Palestine” From 1873 to 1881 Fenn lived abroad and traveled as the quintessential artist in search of the picturesque. Soon after Appleton began publishing Picturesque America in parts in mid-1872, it became clear that the book’s combination of text and images was a winning formula. In fact, it was so successful that the firm involved Fenn in two successors —Picturesque Europe and Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt—produced in an identical format and using the same printing technologies. With their expensive steel engravings—among the last to appear in any major publication—and more numerous wood engravings in the picturesque mode, these books offered just enough innovation in layout and design to seem fresh and to appeal to a wide audience . Nevertheless, tastes were changing and many painters were turning away from picturesque and sublime landscapes to figural subjects and depictions of ordinary outdoor scenes shown in specific seasons or under particular atmospheric conditions. After many Picturesque America subscriptions had been sold and a number of parts, or fascicles, had been distributed, the Appletons decided to publish a companion volume titled Picturesque Europe. The announcement, which appeared inside the wrapper of part 43 of Picturesque America, stated that the new book had been in preparation for some time; another notice in part 45 added that the projected date for beginning publication was January 1, 1875 (which proved overly optimistic). Clearly, the pride in American scenery and cities fostered by Picturesque America had helped lay to rest feelings of inferiority and led many subscribers to want a comprehensive visual survey of Europe as well. The growing sense of belonging to an Atlantic community, combined with the resurgence of interest among many Americans in their Anglo-Saxon heritage, enhanced the appeal and 108  Years Abroad fostered the success of the book, especially its sections on Britain and Northern Europe. The same growing confidence prompted the United States to sponsor its first world’s fair, the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, to which nations were invited to present their cultures, peoples, and accomplishments. Like the organization of the fairs, the visual display of Picturesque Europe and, later, Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt presented and ordered the regions of the world as a spectacle to be experienced by viewing.1 The books were late examples of “the visualization of the travel experience,” in which scenic tourism replaced the opportunity to meet and converse with others as the primary motivation to travel.2 By enabling readers to feel familiar with the areas depicted, they likely encouraged them to plan on, or at least dream of, visiting some of these places. Fenn’s contributions to both works would enhance his reputation and garner praise for American illustrated publications both in the United States and abroad. To further their ambitious new project, in 1873 the Appletons sent Fenn and his wife, their son, and three daughters to England, even as the engraving, printing, and perhaps even writing continued on Picturesque America. In some ways, moving to England must have seemed to Fenn like a homecoming, but it also meant leaving behind treasured colleagues in New York whom he would miss, as revealed in an undated letter to Nathaniel Orr: “I have not heard from any of the fellows in an age.”3 The family stayed in the country for eight years, living in several different locations, as Fenn came and went as necessary for his assignments. At one time Fenn kept a studio at 5 Blandford Place, Park Road, in northwest London, not far from Baker Street station, and in 1874 the family lived in Margate, a seaside resort to the east of the city. They also rented rooms at Gräfenberg House, New Barnet, Hertfordshire, on the north side of London, the location of a Victorian Turkish bath where Fenn’s wife may have taken a cure in the dry air, which was thought to be therapeutic. Mary Fenn suffered from recurring health problems; in a September 18, 1871, letter to Celia Thaxter, Whittier wrote that she had been “very ill” and was undergoing a “water cure” at Clifton Springs, in New York.4 Fenn expressed concern for the “condition” of his “poor dear wife” in an undated letter thanking a Mrs. Holmes for her kindness during the episode: You don’t know what a comfort it is to me, to have the knowledge that there is a kind and loving heart near her...

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