Antique Engraving South Prospect of Berwick Upon Tweed, 1745

After Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, The South Prospect of Berwick Upon Tweed, copper engraving, published 1745, later impression. Berwick-upon-Tweed sits at the northernmost tip of England, a fortified border town that changed hands between England and Scotland more times than any other settlement in the two countries' long disputed history. By the time the Buck brothers engraved this prospect, the town had been English for nearly a century, but its Elizabethan walls, garrison character, and position at the mouth of the Tweed still gave it the look of a place that had earned its keep. The composition is characteristically panoramic: the old Berwick Bridge crossing the Tweed in the left foreground, the town walls and church steeple rising behind, period shipping working the harbor, and the numbered landmark key below identifying named buildings for the antiquarian viewer.

[d]Artists | Samuel Buck (1696–1779) and Nathaniel Buck (died 1759/1774)

[d]Subject | The South Prospect of Berwick Upon Tweed, Northumberland

[d]Medium | Copper engraving on paper, uncolored

[d]Published | 1745, later impression

[d]Origin | England

[d]Size (framed) | 17.5 in W x 8.25 in H

[d]Frame | Hogarth-style, black with gilt inner fillet

[d]Signature | Engraved in plate, lower margin, as published

[condition]

The print is in good antique condition with no significant foxing noted. The uncolored impression presents cleanly with good contrast. The Hogarth-style frame is intact. The glass is present and unbroken. The brown paper backing is sound. Not examined out of frame; impression date (first 1745 strike versus circa 1774 Sayer reissue) has not been confirmed and should be verified by a specialist if impression date is material to the buyer.