Leeds, Entrance to Briggate, Yorkshire, Hand Colored Engraving, 1849
€ 165
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1849
Mapmaker / artist
W. Harvey (artist), T. A. Prior (engraver)
Publisher
Charles Knight, London
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Hand colored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14391-6
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
Good condition for its age. Light toning to the margins and a small dark spot in the lower right margin, clear of the image. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original hand colored steel engraving of Leeds, showing the bridge over the River Aire and the entrance to Briggate, drawn by W. Harvey, engraved by T. A. Prior and published by Charles Knight in London in 1849. The plate is lettered "Leeds: Entrance to Briggate." beneath the image, with "W. Harvey, del." at lower left, "T. A. Prior, sc." at lower right and the imprint "London; Charles Knight, 1849." at the foot.
The view is taken from the river below the bridge. The broad stone arches of Leeds Bridge carry carts, a covered wagon and pedestrians toward the tall buildings at the foot of Briggate, where painted signs on the house fronts, among them the word HOP, advertise the businesses inside, and gas lamps stand along the parapet. Smoke from chimneys and works drifts across the sky, and a church tower rises above the rooftops. On the water a laden keel lies in the foreground, men pole a timber raft and small boats toward the arches, and washing hangs from a line on the bank beside a horse led down to the river.
Briggate was the historic main street and market of Leeds, and the river crossing at its foot had been the heart of the town's trade in cloth and goods carried on the Aire and its canals. By the 1840s Leeds was one of the great industrial towns of the north, and this view catches the smoke, traffic and working river of that moment. William Harvey was among the most prolific book illustrators of the day, and Thomas Abiel Prior was a leading landscape engraver on steel.
Color has been added by hand in soft washes of blue, green, ocher and rose, which brings out the stone of the bridge and the figures on the water. A lively early Victorian image for anyone with Leeds or Yorkshire connections, and a fine piece of industrial topography for a study, office or hallway.
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.
