Caspar Merian, “Gratianopolis. Grenoble”, published 1663

Caspar Merian (1627–1686)

“Gratianopolis. Grenoble” — The Panoramic City View, published 1663

Note that “Gratianopolis” shown in the title banner is the ancient Roman name for modern Grenoble, France.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with engraving on fine laid paper, trimmed with a narrow margin around the image borderline with the vertical division of publication professionally stabilised and backed with a supportive, archival-quality sheet of Japanese washi paper.

This is an historically important 17th-century view of the French city of Grenoble, offering the primary panorama from the original folio page, clean-trimmed away from the lower architectural insets. The image is inscribed with a numbered legend at lower-centre composed by Martin Zeiller (1589-1661) identifying key buildings and sites within the city and locations in the surrounding landscape. It was printed by Jacob van Meurs (active circa 1651–80) and published in Amsterdam in the first Dutch-language edition (1663) by the widow of Joost Broersz and Caspar Merian as an illustration to the final volume of the four-volume atlas: “Topographia Galliae dat is eene algemeene en bysondere naukeurige lant en plaets beschrivinge, vant machtige Koninckrijck Vranckrijck ... Amsterdam: By de Weduw van Ioost Broersz en Casper Meriaen, 1660-1663” (translation: “Topographia Galliae that is a general and particular accurate description of the land and place of the mighty Kingdom of France ... Amsterdam : By the Widow of Ioost Broersz and Casper Meriaen, 1660-1663”).

The impression is strong, crisp, and evenly printed, but showing minor signs of wear to the printing plate and with a fine printer’s crease at left. The sheet is in excellent condition for its wide dimension and considerable age, remaining free of tears, holes, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 13.2 x 47.6 cm
• Inner image borderline: 12 x 46.7 cm

In-Plate lettering:

• Upper centre: “GRATIANOPOLIS. GRENOBLE.”
• Lower centre: legend of numbered locations in the image 1–14 “1. Porte de France. … 14.la Riuiere d’Isere.”

References:

• David Rumsey Art Collection: a marvellous detailed description of this print and the associated plates— https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~312966~90082078:V--4--Gratianopolis--Grenoble (see also via Archive.org— https://archive.org/details/dr_gratianopolis-grenoble-insets-perspective-dune-partie-de-grenoble--13088338

Price & Shipping:

AU$244 (approx. US$175.06 / €149.90 / £128.27, subject to daily exchange rates). Price includes worldwide express shipping. Please note that destination import duties and local taxes remain the sole responsibility of the buyer.

If you’re interested in this historically significant and detailed 17th-century panoramic view of the city of Grenoble—one of the earliest and most comprehensive visual records of the region’s architecture and topography—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’ll gladly provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.