Mayence (Mainz) on the Rhine, Steel Engraving after Birket Foster, circa 1865
€ 185
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1865
Mapmaker / artist
B. Foster (artist), E.I. Roberts (engraver)
Publisher
William Mackenzie, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14391-19
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. Toning, a few small spots to the upper left margin and a crease with a small loss at the lower right corner, well clear of the image. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
A view of Mainz, lettered "Mayence." with its French name, seen across the busy Rhine. The cathedral of Saint Martin dominates the skyline, its tall west tower and domed crossing tower rising above the roofs, with other towers and spires along the riverfront and a gate tower with a pointed roof at the far left. The river is full of traffic: a paddle steamer with smoke pouring from its funnel lies at right among moored sailing barges, a laden boat is poled across the foreground, and in the lower right corner men work on a timber raft floating down the stream.
The plate is lettered "B. Foster." at lower left and "E.I. Roberts." at lower right, for the artist Myles Birket Foster and the engraver Edward John Roberts, with the imprint "William Mackenzie, London, Edinburgh & Glasgow." at the foot of the sheet.
Birket Foster (1825 to 1899) was one of the most popular illustrators of Victorian England, best known for his watercolors of country lanes and cottages, but he also traveled and drew on the Rhine and in Italy for illustrated books of continental scenery. Roberts was a skilled London engraver on steel, much employed on such views. William Mackenzie of Glasgow issued illustrated works in parts for subscribers, and the London, Edinburgh and Glasgow form of his imprint and the style of the plate place it around 1865.
Mainz stands where the Main joins the Rhine, and for British travelers it marked the start of the most celebrated stretch of the river, down through the Rhine gorge toward Koblenz. The engraving captures the traffic that made the city prosperous: timber rafts brought down from the forests upstream, cargo barges, and the new passenger steamers that carried tourists by the thousand.
The engraving is delicate and atmospheric, with towering clouds, close parallel lines in the water and fine detail in the boats. It would appeal to collectors of Rhine scenery, of German cathedral cities or of river transport.
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.
