Mannheim on the Rhine, Germany, River View, Antique Steel Engraving, circa 1865

About this sheet

This antique steel engraving of Mannheim shows the busy Rhine quay of the city, with a large sailing barge, stacked barrels and a domed church rising above the rooftops. The plate is lettered "Mannheim" and was published by William Mackenzie of London, Edinburgh and Glasgow in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.

Mannheim, laid out as a planned residential city by the Electors Palatine, grew in the nineteenth century into one of the most important river ports on the Rhine, and this view captures that commercial life. Barrels and goods wait on the quay, horses are led down to the water to drink, and the heavy barge with its tall mast and furled sail lies close to the bank. The domed church in the background gives the Mannheim skyline its focus, while the open sky and calm water lend the scene a quiet, measured atmosphere.

The plate carries the imprint of William Mackenzie, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, a Scottish publisher known for illustrated subscription books issued in parts from the middle of the nineteenth century. The plate itself carries no date, and the book in which it appeared has not been identified with certainty, so it is dated here to circa 1865, in line with Mackenzie's steel engraved topographical plates of the 1860s and 1870s. The drawing credit at lower left appears to read B. Foster; the reading is not certain, and the plate is therefore not attributed to a named artist as a matter of fact. The engraver's name at lower right appears to read E. I. Roberts, probably Edward John Roberts, a London steel engraver active on topographical books, but this reading is also doubtful.

The print is an uncolored steel engraving with fine line work in the sky, the rigging and the figures. It belongs to a series of Rhine views issued by the same publisher, and a Mannheim plate is less often seen than views of the better known castles of the middle Rhine. It would suit a collector of German towns or of river and harbor scenes, and would look well framed with a pale mount in a study, library or corridor, either alone or as part of a group of Rhine river views.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with toning, a few small spots in the upper left margin and faint soiling at the edges; the steel engraved view itself is clean.

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.