PIC DU MIDI D' OSSAU Artist: T. Allom ____________ Engraver: E. Radclyffe |
VERY OLD WORLD! INCREDIBLE DETAIL!
FROM THE ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: Our tourist may now descend from his Pic, as he has looked far, seen much, and the weather has been favorable. But we have placed him on the highest peak, and the most difficult of ascent, that his prospect might be as extensive as possible. "Most visitors," says the "Hand-book," "make a point of ascending one of the high peaks in the vicinity of the baths, either for the sake of the view, or to say they have been on such or such a peak, hence ' Avez-vous fait quelques ascensions? 'is a common inquiry. The mountain which may be ascended with least trouble, and which repays well by its prospect, is the Pie de Bergous, above Luz. The Pie du Midi de Bigorre, conveniently reached from either Bergous or Bergous de Bigorre, is loftier and more difficult. Less easy still are the Pic du Midi d'Ossau, the Bergous de Roland, and the Conigon in the Eastern Pyrenees, while the still more lofty Vignemale is no easy task to surmount, and the Mont Perdu is both difficult and dangerous-an exploit of a practiced mountaineer, and the Maladetta wears snow on its crest never trodden by human foot until 1842."
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Thomas Allom (1804-1872) was born in London, England on 13th March 1804. He was articled to Francis Goodwin, an architect in 1819. He was to become a founder member of the R.I.B.A. (Royal Institute of British Architects - which is still the premier institution today). He is best know for his topographical drawings, so many of which were engraved on steel & appeared in many of the travel books of the time. He travelled extensively, not just in the UK & Europe, but further afield, covering such countries as Turkey & China. Collections of his work can be found in the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
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Please note: the terms used in our auctions for engraving, heliogravure, lithograph, print, plate, photogravure etc. are ALL prints on paper, NOT blocks of steel or wood. "ENGRAVINGS", the term commonly used for these paper prints, were the most common method in the 1700s and 1800s for illustrating old books, and these paper prints or "engravings" were inserted into the book with a tissue guard frontis, usually on much thicker quality rag stock paper, although many were also printed and issued as loose stand alone prints. So this auction is for an antique paper print(s), probably from an old book, of very high quality and usually on very thick rag stock paper.