Antique Plan of Amsterdam with Environs Inset, Canal Ring, 1847
€ 780
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-14487-1-1
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. Marked handling soiling along the bottom and left edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. All four corners complete.
About this sheet
This is an original antique city plan of Amsterdam, steel engraved and published in the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The sheet shows the full horseshoe of the canal ring, with the Singel, Heerengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht drawn street by street, the Amstel running in from the south and the harbor front open to the IJ. An inset at the upper left gives the Plan of the Environs of Amsterdam, and a band along the foot compares the principal buildings of the city in elevation, among them the Royal Palace on the Dam, the Nieuwe Kerk and the Exchange. 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 162 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 B. R. Davies.
Few maps catch Amsterdam at this moment so clearly: the medieval core and the seventeenth century canal belt are complete, while the nineteenth century expansion beyond the Singelgracht has barely begun. The hand colored water reads beautifully against the engraved street grid, and the building elevations give the sheet a decorative band that framers like. 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 and left 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.
