Lot 178
Edinburgh
Group of plans and views, 17th-19th century
Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs
Auction: 07 February 2024 from 10:00 GMT
Description
Merian, Matthäus. Edynburgum, [Frankfurt], c.1646. Engraved view, mounted, framed and glazed, mount aperture 20.5 x 35.5cm, short closed tear to left-hand margin;
Edgar, William. The Plan of the City and Castle of Edinburgh, [Edinburgh], 1765. Engraved plan, 34.5 x 62cm, framed and glazed, possibly backed on linen (linen strips visible along left and right edges);
Hill, David Octavius. Old and New Edinburgh as seen from the Mons Meg Battery, Castle, A.D. 1848. Edinburgh: Alexander Hill, 1857. Steel-engraving by William Richardson after the painting by David Octavius Hill, glazed and in moulded parcel-gilt frame (with loss to upper left corner), label of Alexander Hill reimposed to backboard, a few spots to print, 56 x 79cm;
Knox, James. Plan of Edinburgh and its Environs. Edinburgh: Fairbairn & Anderson, 1821. Engraved by R. Scott after Knox, hand-coloured, sectionalised and laid on linen, mounted and glazed, 50 x 62.5cm, toning, browning along edges;
Aikman, George. Plan of the City of Edinburgh and Places Adjacent. Published for the Original History of Holyrood. Edinburgh, 1832. Engraved plan, framed and glazed, toning, old folds, 37.5 x 45cm;
Elton, Lady Mary (née Stewart). [Panoramic Views of Edinburgh]. [Edinburgh: William Fairbairn, and R. Ackermann, London], c.1823. 3 lithographs by William Westall after Elton and printed by C. Hullmandel, each comprising a view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill looking north, south and west respectively, separately mounted, framed and glazed, mount apertures 23.5 x 61cm, together with a good-quality facsimile of the view looking east (completing the set), similarly presented [cf. Abbey Scenery 500, hand-coloured version].
The lot not examined out of frames
(9)
Footnote
THE LIBRARY OF DR ANDREW G. FRASER MD FSA SCOT (1937-2020)
The artist Mary Stewart had in 1822 published a similar suite of four views of Edinburgh from Blackford Hill. She is named as Miss Mary Stewart on the plates but by the time of publication had married the Reverend Sir Abraham Elton, 5th Baronet, of Clevedon Court in Somerset, and is named as Mary Elton on the dedication leaf. These views capture Edinburgh at the time of the famous visit of George IV in 1822, with the royal squadron anchored in the Firth of Forth and artillery emplacements on Calton Hill and Salisbury Crags. The imprint is supplied from information provided on the original wrappers (not present here).