LONDON BRIDGE LONDON TOWER LONDON 1794ca BOWLES & CARVER ANTIQUE OPTICAL VIEW

A View of the Tower, with the Bridge & Port of London, from the River Thames. === Vue de la Tour, du Pont et partie de la Ville de Londres prise de la Riviere.

 

Description: Striking and highly detailed fine unusual 1794 approx. copper engraved so-called optical view of the London Bridge & the Tower of London, at London, England, taken from the Thames River. Several inhabitants and several sailing ships adorn the view.

The Vues d'optique were specifically developed to provide the illusion of depth when viewed through a zograscope, also known as an "optical diagonal machine" or viewers with similar functions.

Date: 1794 approx. ( undated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 46,9 x 32,4

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains. Plate uncolored. Wide margins. Small foxing. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Publishers: The Bowles Family (fl. c. 1714 - 1832) were publishers and map sellers active in London from c. 1714 to c. 1832. The firm, under Thomas Bowles (fl. 1714 - 1763), John Bowles (1701 - 1779), Carrington Bowles (1724 - 1793), and as Bowles and Carver (fl. 1794 - 1832), produced a massive corpus of work that included numerous atlases, pocket maps, and wall maps. The Bowles publishing tradition was kept alive for four generations, starting with Thomas Bowles, a print engraver active in the late 17th century. His son, Thomas Bowles II, produced the firm's first maps at St. Paul's Churchyard, London. Thomas's brother, John Bowles (a.k.a. 'Old John Bowles' or 'Black Horse Bowles'), was also an active publisher established at no. 13 Cornhill. He is credited as one of the first publishers of William Hogarth's works. There, John's son, Carrington Bowles, was introduced to the trade. Carrington took over the Cornhill bookshop and eventually merged it with his uncle's shop in St. Paul's Churchyard. On Carrington's 1793 death, the business was passed to his son Henry Carrington Bowles (1763 - 1830), who partnered with his father's former apprentice Samuel Carver (1756 - 1841), renaming the firm 'Bowles and Carver'. Under this imprint, the firm continued to publish maps and atlases until 1832. Henry Carrington Bowles died in 1830, but Samuel Carver, himself in advanced years and poor health, kept it going for another 2 years before closing the business.