Eighty Years War (Dutch War of Independence) (1568-1648)
Contemporary prints and maps of the battles and sieges of the Eighty Years War
View of the siege of Rheinberg, 1606 (Rheinberg, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany) 51°32ʹ47ʺN 06°35ʹ43ʺE
1606 or laterEtching and engraving; printed on paper; gilt edges to bottom and right | 39.9 x 51.1 cm (image) | RCIN 721129
A high oblique view of the siege of Dutch-held Rheinberg by the Spanish army commanded by Ambrogio Spinola (1569-25 September 1630) from 22 August to 1 October 1606 resulting in the capitulation of the town. Eighty Years War (War of Dutch Independence (1568-1648).
The Italian engineer, Pompeo Targone's invention of a field bread-making machine, or field milling machine was a novelty of its day. It is shown here, below the map, together with an image of Targone (1575-c.1630) on horseback. Illustrations of the machine appear in numerous other contemporary sources including Vittorio Zonca: Novo Teatro di Machine et Edificii … (1607 and subsequent editions). It also featured in the Yuanxi Qiqi Tushuo Luzui (Collected Diagrams and Explanations of the Wonderful Machines of the Far West) of 1627, compiled and translated by the German Jesuit Johann Schreck (1576–1630) and Ming Dynasty Chinese author Wang Zheng (1571–1644). According to Needham, it appears to have been invented first in China sometime around the Later Zhao (319–351) era.
Targone's flour mill is also described in the section on 'Camp-Mills' by Beckmann and also by Beyer in Theatrum machinarum molarium.
Giovanni Maggi (1566-c.1621) (engraver) [bottom right of view:] IOANNES · MAGGIO · F ·
Giovanni Orlandi (active 1590-1646) (publisher)
Hendrik van Schoel (d. 1622) (publisher) [bottom right:] Henricus van Schoel formis In Roma con licenza de / li Superiori.
Subject(s)
Army-SpainWatermark: Anchor in circle, a six-pointed star above
Condition: one fold line; brown spotting and discolouration; ink smudges; unevenly trimmed to edge of platemark; printed from a dirty and scratched plate or, on an ink smudged sheet of paper. Gilt edges to bottom and right
39.9 x 51.1 cm (image)
[cropped] x 52.0 cm (platemark)
21.9 x 28.0 cm (image and neatline of map)
16.0 x 27.9 cm (image and neatline of view)
41.0 x 52.5 cm (sheet)
Printed title:
BERGES SVL RENO ASEDIATA ET PRESA A PATI IL DI ·2 · DE OTTOBRE · 1606 · DAL SIG.RE MARCHESE SPINOLA [across top of map]
Dedication:
[top left:] AL ILL.MO Y EXC.MO PRINCIPE Y SEÑOR, EL / S.R IV.O FERNANDEZ PACHECO MARQVES / DE VILLENA … Io. Orlandus donat.
Additional text:[below dedication:] Come la terra de Rinsberck e di molta importanza … [continued over to right hand panel; a key, B-I, K-T, V, W:] Annotationi delli luoghi della terra con le sue mezze lune / et rimpari ouero redotte.
Annotations:
George III heading: Rheinberg 1606. Other annotations: (Recto) [bottom right, black pencil:] 1606. (Verso) [left centre, red pencil:] 1/112; [left centre, black pencil:] I/116.
George III catalogue entry:
Rheinberg Berges sul Reno asediata et presa il di 2 de Ottobre 1606 dal Sig. Marchese Spinola: da I. Orlandus. H. van Schoel formis.
Subject(s)
Rheinberg, North Rhine-Westphalia Germany (51°32ʹ47ʺN 06°35ʹ43ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
J. Beckmann, A history of inventions and discoveries, vol. III, London, 1817, pp. 151-3
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2803
J. Needham, Science and Civilization in China, vol. 4, part 2, Cambridge, 1965, p. 256
Page revisions
25 May 2024
Current version
