Johann Jakob Speiser, Basel Banker, Engraved by Friedrich Weber, 1857
€ 145
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1857
Mapmaker / artist
Fr. Weber (engraver)
Publisher
Not named on the sheet
Technique
Engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Sheet size
25 × 19 cm (9.8 × 7.5 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14343-25
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. Scattered foxing and light soiling to the margins; small tape remnant at the upper edge; pencil marks in the lower right margin. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
An original antique engraved portrait of Johann Jakob Speiser of Basel, engraved and dated in 1857 by the Basel engraver Friedrich Weber, the year after the sitter's death.
Speiser is shown at bust length within an oval, turned slightly to the left, with short dark hair, side whiskers and a steady, intelligent gaze. He wears a dark coat over a patterned waistcoat, a white shirt with a high collar and a broad black stock tied in a bow. The clouded background and the fine parallel lines of the coat are cut with the precision of a reproductive engraver trained in the French school.
The oval is signed in the plate "Fr. Weber sc. 1857", and beneath it appears a bold facsimile signature, "Speiser". The plate is printed on a large sheet with a broad sunken panel around the image.
Johann Jakob Speiser (1813 to 1856) was a Basel merchant and banker who directed the Bank in Basel, served in 1849 as federal expert for the Swiss currency reform and carried out the introduction of the Swiss franc on the French standard in 1851 and 1852. In 1853 he cofounded the Schweizerische Centralbahn, the Swiss Central Railway, and presided over it until his death. Friedrich Weber (1813 to 1882), born in Liestal, trained in Strasbourg, Karlsruhe and Munich, worked in Paris under Paul Delaroche and François Forster, and after his return to Basel engraved numerous portraits of Basel personalities.
A refined portrait for collectors of Swiss history, banking and railway history, or fine nineteenth century line engraving.
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.
