View of the Harbor of St Pierre, Newfoundland – Early French Coastal Engraving
€ 340
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Sheet size
25.2 × 40.2 cm (9.9 × 15.8 in)
Condition
Fair
Reference
BG-14129-36
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
Fair condition overall. Even age-related toning throughout. Original vertical folds visible, as issued. Some creasing and light edge wear, with small marginal losses and soft corners consistent with age. Plate mark visible.
About this sheet
The roadstead of the island of Saint-Pierre near Newfoundland, an original French copper engraving of the eighteenth century, lettered below the image "Vue de la Rade de l'Isle de St. Pierre proche de Terre neuve". A designer's credit ("delineavit") appears at the lower left.
The view looks over a wide, calm bay from a low, rocky shore. At the left, a large spruce stands beside a small thatched building and a fenced yard, with a boat and a seated figure in the corner. In the center, a group of men stand and talk on the beach, one pointing, while a dog sits nearby. At the right, a fishing stage on tall stilts with a pitched roof extends over the water above a pile of logs, barrels and a beached boat with a furled sail, and men work around it. In the distance, rocky islets and a sailing ship lie under a sky of broken clouds.
Saint-Pierre was a French fishing station off the southern coast of Newfoundland, and the stages and drying facilities shown here belong to the cod fishery that made it valuable to France.
