Mississippi River Bluffs St. Paul, Antique Steel Engraving c.1850

Religion · 19th century

Mississippi River Bluffs St. Paul, Antique Steel Engraving c.1850

€ 175

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

Date: 1850
Sheet size: 14 × 19 cm (5.5 × 7.5 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-14038-136

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

In good condition overall, with light age-related toning and minor spotting in the margins. The image itself remains clean and well-contrasted. Wide margins preserved. No significant damage.

About this sheet

The limestone bluffs of the Mississippi River below St. Paul, Minnesota, an original steel engraving of about 1850 from Meyer's Universum, published by the Bibliographisches Institut in Hildburghausen. The plate is lettered "Bluffs below St Paul (Mississippi River)".

A long wall of vertical sandstone and limestone cliffs rises from a dense belt of woodland on the right bank, its stratified faces drawn in fine cross-hatching and crowned with trees. At the left the cliff line curves away behind wooded slopes, and the river fills the foreground in a wide, still sheet that reflects the rock. A single canoe with two paddlers crosses the water, and driftwood and a snag stand in the shallows. Birds skim the surface, and a soft sky with thin clouds lies above.

Views like this one introduced the upper Mississippi to European readers of the illustrated series, which issued landscapes from every part of the world.