Denis Diderot

"Marine Chantier de Construction": 18th C. Engraving of Shipbuilding by Diderot

1751

"Approach to the Fortress of Ibrim, Nubia" is a 19th century folio sized hand-colored lithograph from the Egypt and Nubia volume of David Roberts’ large folio edition, published in London by F. G. Moon in 1847. The lithographs were prepared by Louis Haghe (1806-1885) from drawings and paintings by Roberts. The resultant large folio editions of 'The Holy Land' and 'Egypt & Nubia' are considered the greatest lithographically illustrated works issued in the 19th century. The print is presented in a gold-colored wood frame with a decorative inner trim, with a cream-colored double mat. It is in excellent condition. The lithograph depicts the Fortress of Ibrim in Nubia in the background, which had been a Roman and an Egyptian fortification for centuries due to its strategic elevation, allowing a view of large portions of the surrounding desert. Men are securing the boat in the foreground for the night, taking down its sails. A herd of cattle drinks and cools themselves in the water on the left. There are four additional listings of David Roberts engravings of Egypt...

This Winslow Homer woodcut engraving entitled "Skating on the Ladies' Skating-Pond in Central Park, New York", was published in Harper's Weekly in the January 28, 1860 edition. It depicts a large number of men, women and children skating on a recently opened pond in Central Park. At the time of publication of this engraving, Central Park was in the early stages of construction. This engraving documents the very early appearance of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's masterpiece of landscape design. According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century – a democratic development of the highest significance". The people of New York were very proud of the plans for their park. It was stated at the time: "Our Park, which is progressing very satisfactorily under the management of the Commissioners, will undoubtedly be, one of these days, one of the finest place of the kind in the world...Those who saw the Park before the engineers went to work on it are amazed at the beautiful sites which have been contrived with such unpromising materials; all fair persons believe that the enterprise is managed with honesty and good taste." Skating was rapidly rising in national popularity in part due to the opening of Central Park’s lake to skaters on a Sunday in December 1858 with 300 participants. The following Sunday it attracted ten thousand skaters. By Christmas Day, a reported 50,000 people came to the park, most of them to skate. There were rules governing who could use the skating pond. “The Ladies’ Pond...

This large framed 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled "Veduta della Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuor della mura" (Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls), published in Rome in 1750 in Piranesi's Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), This etching depicts the Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls, which is a Roman Catholic papal basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of the five "papal basilicas". It was built as a shrine to the martyred Roman deacon St. Lawrence. This Piranesi etching is held by many museums and institutions, including: The Metropolitan Museum, The British Museum, The National Gallery of Art, The Yale University Art Gallery, and The Harvard Museum of Art. This magnificent etching is presented in a brown-colored wood frame and a tan French...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta degl' Avanzi delle Torri di Belisario Dalla parte che guarda l' Interno della Città, vicino a Porta S. Giovanni, A. Mura Aureliane" (...