Town Hall of Louvain (Leuven), Belgium, Steel Engraving after Allom, c. 1850
€ 170
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1850
Mapmaker / artist
Thomas Allom (artist), E. Radclyffe (engraver)
Publisher
Peter Jackson, London and Paris
Technique
Steel engraving
Coloring
Uncolored
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13194-122
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 wear to the top left corner. Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Printed image clean.
About this sheet
A steel engraving of the Town Hall of Leuven, lettered Louvain, after Thomas Allom, one of the great Gothic civic buildings of Europe.
The town hall rises at the center, its facade covered with niches, tracery and slender corner turrets. At right stands part of St. Peter's Church, and old gabled houses frame the square at left. In the foreground a horseman crosses the cobbles, a porter rolls a barrel, a dog runs, and townspeople gather in the market.
The plate is lettered "T. Allom" and "E. Radclyffe", with the title "Town Hall of Louvain, with part of the Cathedral", a French caption "Hotel de Ville Louvain, avec une partie de la Cathédrale", and the imprint "Peter Jackson, London and Paris". Allom's Belgian views were first issued by Fisher, Son and Co. and later reissued under the Peter Jackson imprint; this impression is dated circa 1850.
The Leuven town hall was built between 1448 and 1469 and is one of the finest works of Brabantine Gothic. The lettering calls St. Peter's a cathedral, as English captions often did.
A superb architectural subject for a study or library, it pairs well with the Brussels and Antwerp views in this group. The engraved image measures about 12.6 by 17.3 cm (height by width), and the margins around it carry all the original lettering, which is worth keeping visible in the mat.
Condition: Light wear to the top left corner. Age toning, darker at the edges; handling soiling along the edges and scattered foxing in the margins. Printed image clean.
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.
