La Pérouse Alaska Tlingit Woman Portrait Engraving – 1797

€ 795

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1797
Sheet size: 56.8 × 42.5 cm (22.4 × 16.7 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-13384-20

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 antique condition with age-related toning, light foxing, and some faint staining in the margins. The sheet retains wide margins and a strong, clean impression overall.

About this sheet

A woman of Port des Français in Alaska, an original copper engraving from the atlas to the Voyage de La Pérouse autour du monde, published in Paris in 1797. The plate is lettered "Femme du Port des Français", with the atlas plate number at the upper right.

The woman sits at the center, barefoot on a low rock, in a long fur robe over a lighter dress tied at the waist. A second figure in fur is partly visible behind her at the right, and a chest and a vessel stand at her feet. Tall conifers rise over the group, and in the background at the left a small party of figures stands by the water with ships on the horizon.

Port des Français is Lituya Bay on the coast of Alaska, visited in 1786 on the expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse. The drawing was made by Gaspard Duché de Vancy, reworked by J.M. Moreau, and engraved for the atlas.