Antique Plan of Oporto with Douro Panorama and Environs Inset, 1847
US$765
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1847
Mapmaker / artist
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Publisher
Charles Knight and Co., 22 Ludgate Street, London
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
35 × 43 cm (13.8 × 16.9 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14487-1-31
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom and right edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. All four corners complete.
About this sheet
This is an original antique city plan of Oporto, steel engraved and published in the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The plan shows the city rising from the north bank of the Douro with Vila Nova de Gaia and its port lodges opposite, the old streets dropping to the Ribeira and the Torre dos Clerigos standing over them. An inset gives the environs of Oporto and a long panorama taken from the Torre da Marca runs across the foot, with sailing craft on the river. The outline and water coloring is original hand color, applied by the publisher before the sheet was bound into the volume.
It carries plate number 195 and belongs to the third volume of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge atlas, the volume given over to plans of cities, the stars and the index to places, published by Charles Knight of 22 Ludgate Street in London in 1847. Knight took over the Society's map series and reissued it corrected, so the plates carry a range of dates within one set. The plate is lettered as drawn by W. B. Clarke and engraved by J. Henshall.
The wine lodges shown across the water at Gaia are the business that made Oporto, and the panorama catches the barcos rabelos still working the Douro. It is a scarce Portuguese sheet and an obvious choice for anyone who loves port wine or the city itself. 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. Handling soiling along the bottom and right edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. All four corners complete.
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.
