Londres 1678. [Panoramic view of London in 1678]
50,000 £
Extremely rare panoramic broadsheet town view of London from Whitehall to the Tower, with a letterpress description of the town's history beneath. The only other known copy, but without the text below, is preserved at the British Museum under number 1880,1113.1153.The view measures more than 1 meter. The river Themes in the foreground and animated with a great variety of vessels.
The printers' address is dated 1677 but the tile has the date 1678. Lettered on a plate with the title on a ribbon at the top with the date 1678, between two cartouches, one with the caduceus of Mercury, the other with a Crucifix entwined by a tendril in the shape of the letter S; within the image, numerous place names.
Reference: Irene Scouloudi, "Panoramic Views of London 1600-1666", 1953, p.41, describes this town-view as a version of the long view by Visscher. This is the only impression of this version that she records.
