Doway, A Strong City in the Earldom of Flanders in the Low Countries, Subject to the French [Plan of the City of Doway - War of the Spanish Succession] [18th Century European Map]

Basire, Isaac (1704-1768), engraver

Published by Nicholas Tindal, London, 1745

About this Item

THE FORTIFIED CITY OF DOUAI DURING THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION. An eighteenth-century engraved plan of Douai, or Doway, showing the heavily fortified French city, its bastioned defenses, streets, surrounding roads, waterways and military landscape. The plan places the walled city at its center, with the detached Fort of the Scarpe to the west and additional defensive works surrounding the approaches. An elaborate Rococo cartouche identifies Doway as a strong city in the Earldom of Flanders in the Low Countries, subject to the French. The map was prepared for Nicholas Tindal's continuation of Paul de Rapin-Thoyras's History of England, whose maps and battle plans documented the European campaigns associated with the War of the Spanish Succession. Surviving bibliographical records identify Isaac Basire among the engravers responsible for the maps and plans prepared for Tindal's continuation. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: A LARGE COPPER-ENGRAVED PLAN OF AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FORTRESS CITY. +++ Copper engraving on laid paper, approximately 20.5 by 16 inches overall. Blank verso. Issued folded for inclusion in the original volume. +++ Detailed plan of Douai and its surrounding terrain, showing the city's polygonal system of walls, bastions, outworks and approaches; the street plan within the fortifications; the Scarpe River and associated waterways; roads, cultivated land and neighboring settlements. +++ The Fort of the Scarpe appears separately to the west, connected to the city's defensive landscape. A lettered key identifies individual defensive positions including the Balls or Ridge, Burgher's Tower, Ladies Tower, Bastion of St. Albin, Bastion of Bloere and the three entrances of the river. +++ Scale given as five hundred toises, with the notation that a toise is six English feet. +++ Ornamental cartouche at upper left reads Doway A Strong City in the Earldom of Flanders in the Low Countries, Subject to the French. Signed within the cartouche I. Basire Sculp. +++ Lower title reads PLAN of the CITY of DOWAY, followed by its association with Mr. Tindal's continuation of Mr. Rapin's History of England. CONDITION: VERY GOOD WITH LIGHT AGE TONING AND MINOR MARGINAL LOSS. Light, even age toning with the expected original folds from publication. Fold lines remain sound and are not visually intrusive. No punctures, significant tears or markings observed. Small area of paper loss along the lower blank margin, together with minor edge irregularity; the engraved image and printed information remain unaffected. Verso blank with light toning. . HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE - DOUAI AS A FORTRESS OF THE FRENCH FRONTIER Douai occupied a strategically important position in the repeatedly contested borderlands between France and the Low Countries. By the period represented here, its extensive bastioned defenses made the city an important French stronghold. THE FORTIFICATIONS OF DOUAI - c. 1743-1745 The plan is particularly effective as a record of eighteenth-century military geography. Rather than presenting Douai simply as a street plan, Basire shows the city as a defensive system: fortifications, detached works, waterways, roads and surrounding terrain are integrated into a single military landscape. The prominent depiction of the Fort of the Scarpe further demonstrates the importance of controlling the approaches beyond the principal walls. A MAP MADE TO ILLUSTRATE MILITARY HISTORY. The map's original context is equally important. Tindal's continuation of Rapin's History of England was explicitly illustrated with maps and other historical material, and bibliographical records identify separate collections of its maps and plans. MAPPING THE DEFENSIVE LANDSCAPE OF A CONTESTED FLANDERS CITY. As an original eighteenth-century plate removed from that publication, the map combines the visual appeal of a fortified European city plan with documentary evidence of how British readers encountered the continental campaigns of the early eighteenth century. S.

Seller Inventory # 005823

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Doway, A Strong City in the Earldom of Flanders in the Low Countries, Subject to the French [Plan of the City of Doway - War of the Spanish Succession] [18th Century European Map]
• Publisher: Nicholas Tindal, London
• Publication Date: 1745
• Language: English
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 2 pounds
• Seller catalogs:
  • TRAVEL, EXPLORATION & GEOGRAPHY
  • 18th CENTURY and EARLIER WORKS
  • HISTORY