Thirty Years War (1618-48)
Maps, prints and letterpress text covering the major battles and sieges of the war
Siege of Breisach, 1638
c.1638Etching and engraving; printed on paper; mounted on paper (Mount Type B; gilt edges right and bottom | 35.9 x 46.8 cm (image and sheet) | RCIN 722122
A low-middle oblique view of the siege of Breisach 18 August-17 December 1638 in which Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (16 August 1604-18 July 1639), joined by French forces commanded by Jean-Baptiste Guébriant 1602-17 November 1643) and Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne (11 September 1611-27 July 1675), forced the commander of Breisach, Baron Hans Heinrich von Rheinach, to capitulate. Thirty Years War (1618-1648).
This is a later state of the view at RCIN 722121.a, and includes a profile of the lines of communication and an engraved key, and additional engraved detail showing the scene at the end of the siege with the French and German armies entering the town while the triumphant commanding officers, Saxe-Weimar, Turenne and Guébriant look on from the surrounding heights. Another example of this print is in an untitled volume of fifteen prints and maps of the campaigns of Louis XIII between 1629 and 1640 (RCIN 722039.h). See RCIN 722039.
Abraham Bosse (1604-76) (printmaker)
? Melchior Tavernier (1594-1665) (publisher)
Watermark: Map: bunch of grapes; countermark: indistinct, initials in small rectangular frame. Mount: none.
Condition: one fold line. Verso: ink smudges. Pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this map/print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso
35.9 x 46.8 cm (image and sheet)
cropped (platemark)
40.1 x 52.0 cm (mount)
Printed title:
None
Inset:
[top left, in cartouche:] Profil de la Ligne de / Comunication
Additional text:
[top centre, in cartouche resembling drapes, a key, A-H, I, L-T, V, X:] Table Pour Lintelligence des Lettres marques au present Plan
Annotations:
George III heading: Brisach besieged by the Duke of Weimar in 1638.
Other inscriptions: (Recto) [top right, black pencil:] Brisach; [bottom right, black pencil:] 1638. (Verso) none.
George III catalogue entry:
Brisach Another Copy of D.o [i.e. RCIN 722121] with alterations and additions.
Subject(s)
Breisach am Rhein, [Vieux-Brisach] Baden-Württemburg, Germany (48°01'58"N 07°34'58"E)
Bibliographic reference(s)
Leathes, S. et al. The Cambridge Modern History, 1907, vol.4, pp.376-377.
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 3025
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
