Marksburg Castle on the Rhine, Steel Engraving after Birket Foster, c. 1872
€ 240
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), E.I. Roberts (engraver)
Publisher
William Mackenzie, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Fair
Reference
BG-13194-139
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
Small loss or rounding to the bottom left corner. Minor nicks along the bottom edge. Light, uneven toning, slightly darker towards the edges. Scattered light foxing and several larger brown spots in the margin.
About this sheet
A steel engraving of the Marksburg above Braubach on the Rhine, after Birket Foster and engraved by E.I. Roberts.
The castle sits on the summit of a steep, rounded hill, with the little town and its church spire along the river below. In the foreground a timber raft carries a group of travelers, and a rowing boat and a moored sailing barge lie by the bank, where men unload barrels. Clouds sweep across a wide sky.
The plate is lettered "B. Foster" and "E.I. Roberts", with the title "Castle of Marksburg" 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.
The Marksburg is the only hilltop castle of the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed, and it is now part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site.
A classic Rhine subject for a hallway or study, and a natural companion to the other Foster plates in this group. The engraved image measures about 11 by 16.1 cm (height by width), and the margins around it carry all the original lettering, which is worth keeping visible in the mat.
Condition: Small loss or rounding to the bottom left corner. Minor nicks along the bottom edge. Light, uneven toning, slightly darker towards the edges. Scattered light foxing and several larger brown spots in the margin.
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.
