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Thirty Years War (1618-48)

Maps, prints and letterpress text covering the major battles and sieges of the war

ANONYMOUS

View of the siege of Hondarribia, 1638 (Hondarribia [Fontarabie, Fuenterrabía], Basque Country, Spain) 43°22ʹ07ʺN 01°47ʹ46ʺW

1642 or later

Etching and engraving; printed on paper; mounted on paper (Mount Type B); gilt edge, right | Scale: 1:14,500 approx. | RCIN 722113

A high oblique view of the siege of Spanish Fuentarrabía, June-September 1638, by the French army, commanded by Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé (1 September 1588-26 December 1646) and Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette d’Épernon (1592-25 July 1661) resulting in the defeat on 9 September 1628 of the French by a Spanish relief army under Juan Alfonso Enríquez de Cabrera, 9th Admiral of Castile (3 March 1599-6 February 1647). Thirty Years War (1618-1648) and Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659). Oriented with west-south-west to top (compass rose).

The key refers to La Valette as ‘Mr le Duc’; Valette did not become Duke until 1642, on the death in that year of his father. The publication date of this print has therefore been placed in 1642 or later.

  • Anonymous (publisher)

    Subject(s)

    Army-Spain
    Army-France
  • Watermark: Map: bunch of grapes with a stalk; countermark: the initials M A, separated by a quatrefoil, in a rectangular frame. Mount: none.

    Condition: one fold line. Pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso

  • Scale: 1:14,500 approx. Scale bar: Echelle de 500 Thoisses [sic] [67 mm =].

    36.3 x 50.1 cm (image and sheet)

    cropped (platemark)

    38.1 x 52.4 cm (mount)

  • Printed title:

    Plan au Vray de Fontarabie et des Lieux Circonuoisins et de Lordre / du Siege Par L’Armee de Sa Majeste Soubs La Conduite de Mr Le Prince [top centre]

    Inset:

    [top right, in irregularly shaped panel, a high oblique view, in outline, of the fortified wall of Hondarribia:] Plan de Fontarabie 
    Scale: 1:3,000 approx. Scale bar: Echelle de 50 Thoises [32 mm =]. Size: 11.8 x 14.3 cm (neatline).

    Additional text:

    [left, a key, A-I, K-N, to the town, locations of the quarters of the Prince de Condé and the duc de la Vallette, and the named French regiments and the positions of the mortars and batteries.]

    Annotations:

    George III heading: Fontarabia besieged by the Prince of Conde in 1637 [sic].

    Other annotations: none.

    George III catalogue entry:

    Fontarabia Plan de Fontarabie et des lieux circonvoisins, et de l’ordre du Siege par l’Armée de Sa Majesté sous la conduite du Prince de Condé en 1637 [sic].

  • Subject(s)

    Hondarribia [Fontarabie, Fuenterrabía], Basque Country, Spain (43°22ʹ07ʺN 01°47ʹ46ʺW)

  • Bibliographic reference(s)

    J. Dunlop, Memoirs of Spain during the reigns of Philip IV. and Charles II. from 1621 to 1700, Edinburgh, 1, 1834, pp. 201-204

    M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 3013

Page revisions

  • 23 May 2024