Lake Constance with Mainau and Reichenau, Engraving after Birket Foster, c. 1872
€ 140
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1872
Mapmaker / artist
Birket Foster (artist), A. Willmore (engraver)
Publisher
William Mackenzie, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13194-81
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 wear to the top left and top right corners. Light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. A few small spots of surface abrasion in the sky.
About this sheet
A luminous steel engraving of Lake Constance with the islands of Mainau and Reichenau, after Birket Foster and engraved by A. Willmore.
The sun stands low over the lake and sends a bright path of light across the water toward a wooded island. Gentle hills enclose the far shore. In the foreground a shepherd and a companion sit on a bank above the lake as their flock grazes among birch trees, and the land falls away to orchards and meadows by the water.
The plate is lettered "B. Foster" and "A. Willmore", with the title "Lake of Constanz, and the Islands of Mainau and Reichenau" and the imprint "William Mackenzie, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow". It belongs to the same Mackenzie series as the Liebenstein and Sterrenberg plate that Heritage Images records in H.M. Hozier's The Franco-Prussian War (1872), so it is dated circa 1872.
Mainau is famous today as the flower island, and Reichenau for its early medieval monastery, now a World Heritage Site. Arthur Willmore was one of the most accomplished landscape engravers of his generation, and the silvery tones of the lake show his skill.
A calm, airy view that suits a bedroom or living room, and a natural companion to other Lake Constance or Swiss views. The engraved image measures about 11.5 by 16.5 cm (height by width), and the margins around it carry all the original lettering, which is worth keeping visible in the mat.
Condition: Light wear to the top left and top right corners. Light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. A few small spots of surface abrasion in the sky.
This is an original antique print, 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.
