On offer: an original (i.e. not a later reproduction) antique print "Doune Castle.", Stirlingshire, Scotland.

DATE PRINTED: 1848 or shortly afterwards.

SIZE: The printed view, including titles, is approximately 24 x 19 cm, 9.5 x 7.5 inches (medium) plus margins.

ARTIST/CARTOGRAPHER/ENGRAVER: Engraved by John Henry Le Keux (23 March 1812 – 4 February 1896) from an original study by the architect and illustrator R. W. Billings. Robert William Billings (1813 – 14 November 1874) was an English painter and architect. Trained as a topographical draughtsman, he wrote and illustrated many books early in his career, before concentrating on his architectural practice.

PROVENANCE: Produced for the part-work “Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland”, published between 1845 and 1852.

TYPE: Antique steel plate engraving printed on paper.

VERSO: There is a nothing on the reverse side which is blank.

CONDITION: Good, suitable for framing.  Please check the scan for any blemishes prior to making your purchase. Virtually all antiquarian maps and prints are subject to some normal aging due to use and time which is not significant unless otherwise stated. I offer a no questions asked return policy.

AUTHENTICITY: This is an authentic antique print, published at the date stated above. I do not offer reproductions. It is not a modern copy.  The term 'original' when applied to a print means that it was printed at the first or original date of publication; it does not imply that the item is unique.

RETURNS POLICY: I offer a no questions returns policy. All I ask is that you pay return shipping and mail back to me in original condition.

POSTAGE / SHIPPING COSTS: I only charge postage for the first print ordered. There is no additional postage charge if you order more than one print.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Doune Castle is a medieval stronghold near the village of Doune, in the Stirling district of central Scotland. The castle is sited on a wooded bend where the Ardoch Burn flows into the River Teith. It lies 8 miles (13 km) north-west of Stirling, where the Teith flows into the River Forth. Upstream, 8 miles (13 km) further north-west, the town of Callander lies at the edge of the Trossachs, on the fringe of the Scottish Highlands. Recent research has shown that Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c.1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert's stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany's son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house. In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn's rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century. By 1800 the castle was ruined, but restoration works were carried out in the 1880s, prior to its passing into state care in the 20th century. It is now maintained by Historic Environment Scotland.

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