View of London looking over Southwark to the North, famous panoramic map of Elizabethan London prior to Great Fire of 1666 by Matthaus Merian, published 1638

Description

“View of London looking over Southwark to the North 1638”

A striking panoramic view of London before the Great Fire of 1666, from Gottfried & Merian Neuwe Archontologia Cosmica, engraved by Matthaus Merian the Elder and published in 1638 in Frankfurt, Germany. It is based on 1616 view of London by Claes Jansz Visscher and 1600 Civitas Londini by John Norden. The key to 43 most significant buildings is printed beneath.

Elizabethan London shown as it was around 1600 when the population was around 200.000. The river Thames, the London Bridge and the Southwark Cathedral are in the foreground. Several traitors’ heads on iron spikes are shown atop a tower at the southern gate of London Bridge. On the South Bank in the foreground are the flags of the Shakespeare’s first Globe Theatre, where one of the first plays performed was Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. St Paul’s is over the river to the left.

Matthäus (Matthias) Merian the Elder (22.09.1593 – 19.06.1650) was a leading German illustrator and engraver of the 17th century. He was born in Basel and learned the art of engraving in Zurich, Strasbourg and Paris. In 1618 Merian went to Frankfurt, where he married Maria Magdalena de Bry, a daughter of publisher and Merian’s employer Johann Theodor de Bry. They had seven children including Matthaus Merian the Younger, later a well-known engraver himself. After death of de Bry in 1623, Merian took over his publishing house, which was destroyed by fire in during the Spanish occupation. Merian then moved back to Basel, and soon after to Frankfurt, Germany. Maria Magdalena de Bry died in 1645, and the following year Matthaus married Johanna Sibylla Heim. One of their children was Anna Maria Sibylla Merian, who later became a pioneering naturalist and illustrator. Matthäus Merian the Elder is best known for the series Theatrum Europaeum which he started in 1635, and Topographia Germaniae published after 1642, with over 2000 plates engraved by himself and his sons Matthaus and Caspar. Merian’s town views are famous for their detail and provide extraordinary insight into 16th and 17th century urban life.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we thoroughly recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

POSTER PRINT QUALITY

Please note that our reproduction posters are made to order and every print is checked before posting. The images we use in most cases are scans of antique originals, professionally restored in order to remove the most evident stains, folds, tears and other damage. We strive to balance the restoration and saving the overall integrity and antique appearance of the original. Our restored images are unique and these prints can be purchased only from www.VictorianMaps.com.

There will be no watermark on your image but there might be a white border depending on aspect ratio of the original. Please note that when a large antique original is reduced to a smaller size print some text may not be readable. Please check our measurements: every poster has its own aspect ratio same as original and printed exactly as pictured.