Geneva from the Ramparts Antique WH Bartlett Steel Engraving (Sold)
Beautiful handcolored print “Geneva from the Ramparts” – Antique Steel Engraving by R Wallis after W.H. Bartlett. Text below the image reads: “London Published for the Proprietors by Geo Virtue 26 Ivy Lane Aug.1t 1834”
In the foreground, we see the old wooden tannaries on the Rhone river in the area near the current location of Quai de Seujet. Soldiers on guard below the ramparts flirt with a group of women on the river banks. The St. Pierre Cathedral and old town rise above the left bank, with views of the French Alps and Saleve.
Dimensions: 17.5 x 12 xm (Image) 27 x 20 cm (Full Sheet)
Condition: Some small stains and spots. Outer margins of the sheet have age toning. Overall there is nothing that mars the general attraciveness of the sheet.
William Henry Bartlett, originally trained as an architect, but became an extraordinarily prolific illustrator for the print making trade.
One Bartlett’s first important assignments was to provide the illustrations for Dr William Beattie’s Switzerland illustrated (London, 1836), published by George Virtue. Bartlett sketched the scenes he saw in sepia wash which were sent back to London where engravers etched them on steel plates for publication. His visit to Switzerland coincided with the beginnings of Swiss tourism and a growing interest in the beautiful scenery of the alps among the broader British public.
During his short life Bartlett actually travelled to all of the places he depicted, including America, Africa and nearly every region of Europe. He made four visits to North America between 1836 and 1852. William Henry Bartlett died of fever at age 46 on board a French ship off the coast of Malta returning from his last trip to the Near East.
