1860 Sterling was depicted in an issue of the 19th-20th century fashion and women’s magazine The Delineator published by the Butterick Publishing Company. Butterick Patterns was founded in Sterling. Note our Town Hall, the oldest surviving Town building, at center right. Click on image to enlarge.

The drawing was drawn by Brooklyn born painter, illustrator, author Corwin Knapp Linson (1864-1959).

The MME Gallery in New York provides his biography: “Corwin Linson spent most of his life in the New York area; living and working in Atlantic Heights, New Jersey, on the Raritan Bay. He shared a studio with Stephen Crane, author of The Red Badge of Courage, whom he accompanied and collaborated on investigative missions to expose the conditions of the working class, including Pennsylvania coal miners, and residents of Manhattan’s Bowery. Linson made numerous illustrations for magazines such as McClure’s and The Century, and his subjects ranged from social commentary, to travel images, to biblical subjects. In addition to his practical experience as an illustrator, he received his formal training in Paris, at the Academie Julien and the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

Many of the top institutions exhibited Linson’s work, including the Paris Salon in 1890; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1892-93, 1904, 1925; the Art Institute of Chicago and National Academy of Design, 1892-95; and the Corcoran Gallery Biennial, 1923. Examples of his work can be found in the collections of Williams College, Williamstown,MA; the Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and the Fogg Museum, Cambridge, MA, among others.”