Strasburg Cathedral, Alsace, Rhine Region, Antique Steel Engraving, circa 1865

About this sheet

This antique steel engraving of Strasbourg, lettered with the old English spelling "Strasburg", shows the soaring spire of the cathedral rising above a canal side market square, with boats moored along the water and townspeople going about their business. It was engraved by A. Willmore and published by William Mackenzie of London, Edinburgh and Glasgow in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.

The cathedral of Notre Dame at Strasbourg, with its single north spire completed in 1439, was for more than two centuries the tallest building in the world, and it remained one of the great sights of any journey up the Rhine. The artist has placed it at the head of an upright composition so that the spire towers over the gabled houses and the busy quay below, capturing the sense of scale that impressed travelers. The canal is one of the branches of the Ill, which winds through the old town before joining the Rhine.

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 is lettered as A. Willmore, which indicates Arthur Willmore, a prolific English steel engraver and younger brother of James Tibbitts Willmore, who worked extensively for illustrated books and art journals of the period.

The print is an uncolored steel engraving in upright format, finely worked in the tracery of the spire and in the reflections on the water. Strasbourg Cathedral is a popular subject for collectors of Gothic architecture, of Alsace and of Rhine scenery, and this plate would look handsome framed in a narrow dark moulding in a hallway, stairwell or study, where its tall format can be used to good effect.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with toning, edge soiling and wear, a crease at the upper right corner and a faint stain in the left margin; the image 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.