Friedrich Bernhard Werner. “Lille.” [France]
Augsburg: J.G. Merz, 1730-40. Engraving by Martin Engelbrecht (1684-1756). Image ca. 7 x 12, with French and German text below. Margined at top and bottom to make uniform size for binding. Overall, very good condition.
A very detailed and attractive view from a wonderful series of eighteenth century German prints after drawings by Friedrich Bernhard Werner (1690-1778). Werner was an artist and an engraver who had studied in Breslau and traveled throughout Europe. The engravers, Johann Georg Ringlin (or Ringle) and Martin Engelbrecht, were also from Augsburg and the latter is listed in Benezit as the illustrator for Paul Decker the Elder’s Les Architectes princiers. Listings in libraries for this series of views of European cities use two titles: Delineatio & representatio notabillissimorum prospetuum . . ., in the New York Public Library, and Folgen von beruhmten Stadten Mitteleuropas, from Thieme-Becker, which suggests that this series was never finished and had no formal title. Scarcity of these views from the many catalogs that we have examined indicates that they are quite rare. The prints are excellent, with clear and detailed information, including numbered keys to the major sites in the cities depicted. The images are also embellished with elaborate cartouches and vignettes of natives in the foreground.
Other city views by Werner: