The Holstein Gate, Lubeck, Antique Steel Engraving after Carl Werner, circa 1877
€ 320
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1877
Mapmaker / artist
Carl Werner (artist), J. Godfrey (engraver)
Publisher
Cassell, Petter & Galpin, London
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13194-96
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
Light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. Printed image clean.
About this sheet
A tall, upright steel engraving of the Holstein Gate in Lubeck, the great brick city gate seen head on from the road leading into town. Its two massive round towers, crowned with steep conical roofs and spires, flank a gabled central block with a deep arched gateway, through which carriages and figures pass. Behind the gate rise the twin spires of St. Mary's Church, and to either side stand tall gabled merchant houses, with the masts of ships glimpsed at left.
The broad foreground is busy with everyday life. At left, children and women gather around a stone block; in the center a small girl walks toward the viewer with a basket; at right, market women sit under large parasols with baskets of produce while customers stop to buy. A sky of high, rolling clouds fills more than half the sheet and gives the composition its stately height.
The Holstentor, built in the fifteenth century, is the emblem of Lubeck, the old Hanseatic port on the Baltic. The plate is after a painting by Carl Werner, whose signature appears in the image at lower left, and was engraved by J. Godfrey. The imprint is that of Cassell, Petter & Galpin of London, and this view appeared in their Picturesque Europe in the late 1870s.
The engraving shows the full range of the steel engraver's craft: the brickwork of the towers is rendered in fine, even hatching, the clouds in soft graded lines, and the small figures with lively precision. The script title and imprint are printed in the lower margin. The printed image is clean.
The upright format makes this an excellent choice for a narrow wall, between windows or beside a doorway, and it would look particularly handsome in a simple black or walnut frame with a wide mat.
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.
