Antique Plan of Moscow with Kremlin and Sparrow Hills View, 1847

About this sheet

This is an original antique city plan of Moscow, steel engraved and published in the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The plan is built around the Kremlin and Kitay Gorod at the center, with the ring streets of the Bely Gorod and the Zemlyanoy Gorod spreading outward and the Moskva curling through. The sheet carries a vignette of a church in the Kremlin and a long panorama taken from the Sparrow Hills with the Donskoi Monastery in the foreground, and the drawing is dated June 1836. The outline and water coloring is original hand color, applied by the publisher before the sheet was bound into the volume.

The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge published this as plate number 191 of the third volume of its atlas, the cities and stars volume, through Charles Knight at 22 Ludgate Street in London in 1847. The plans were engraved on steel, which allowed far larger print runs than copper and kept the fine detail crisp across the whole edition. The plate is lettered as drawn by W. B. Clarke and engraved by B. R. Davies.

This is Moscow rebuilt after the fire of 1812 and before the industrial city of the later century, with the ring plan that still governs the place today already fully formed. The Sparrow Hills panorama runs across the full width of the foot of the sheet. Framed simply in dark wood or a plain gilt frame it suits a study, a hallway or a dining room, and it is a natural gift for anyone with a tie to the place.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the top right corner.

This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.