| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | after David Loggan |
| Published | D. Loggan Acad. Oxon. Sculptor [A Londres, Chez David Mortier, Libraire. MDCCXV] |
| Dimensions | Image 400 x 505 mm, Plate 405 x 510 mm |
| Notes |
An early eighteenth century view of the rear of the Sheldonian Theatre, from Johannes Kip's monumental Nouveau théâtre de la Grande Bretagne. The view shows the northern face of the Sheldonian from Broad Street, in a view that is a very close copy of the famous 1675 elevation of the building from David Loggan's celebrated Oxonia Illustrata. Although Loggan is credited as the originator of the view in the inscription space below, the identity of the engraver is unknown, though it is tempting to ascribe the view on stylistic grounds to Michael Burghers, Loggan's protégé and successor as University Engraver. Although very similar to, and often mistaken for, Loggan's original, the current example is on a slightly larger scale, and was clearly printed from an entirely new plate. Johannes 'Jan' Kip (1653 - 1722) was a Dutch draughtsman, engraver, and print dealer who was active in England, after producing works for the court of William of Orange in Amsterdam. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Kip accompanied the Court to England and settled in Westminster, where he conducted a thriving print selling business from his house in St. John's Street. He also worked for various London publishers producing engravings, largely for book illustrations. His most important works were the execution of the illustrations for Britannia Illustrata, 1708; The Ancient and Present State of Gloucestershire, 1712, and Le Nouveau Theatre de la Grande Bretagne, 1715. David Loggan (1635-1692), artist and engraver, was born at Danzig in 1635. He may have learnt the art of engraving from Simon van den Passe in Denmark and from Hendrik Hondius in the Netherlands. Loggan followed Hondius's sons to England in about 1653, and by 1665 he was residing at Nuffield, near Oxford, and had made the acquaintance of the antiquarian Anthony Wood. On 30 March 1669 he was appointed Engraver to the University of Oxford, with an annual salary of twenty shillings. He married a daughter of Robert Jordan, Esq. of Kencote Hall in Oxfordshire in 1671, and in 1672 they had a son, John Loggan, who later graduated from Trinity College. The marriage probably produced another son, William Loggan, about whom little is known except that he was responsible for a satirical print of Father Peters and the Jesuits, published in 1681. David Loggan took up residence in Holywell in about 1671, prior to matriculating at the University. In 1675 he was naturalised as an Englishman. The remainder of his life was spent mostly in London, where he worked as an agent and art dealer, and as Engraver to the University of Cambridge, a position he attained in 1690, two years before his death. Loggan's two great works were a series of architectural bird's eye plans of the colleges and public buildings of Oxford and Cambridge, the Oxonia Illustrata, published in 1675, and its rarer sister Cantabrigia Illustrata, which appeared at some point previous to 1690. Following Loggan's death, the plates were acquired and reprinted by Henry Overton in 1705 and c.1710 respectively. Oxonia Illustrata was the first illustrated book on Oxford and one of the major works of the 17th century. The book was the product of several years of devoted and conscientious effort in which Loggan was assisted by his pupil Robert White. The Oxonia Illustrata was intended as a companion work to Historia Antiquitates Universitatis Oxoniensis by Anthony Wood, with whom Loggan had become acquainted some years earlier. Although clearly intended as companions, with pagination suggesting that they were even parts of the same volume, for some unknown reason both books were published independently. Condition: Central vertical fold, as issued. Overall toning to sheet. Loss to upper right margin and lower left margin. Diagonal creasing upper and lower left and upper right. Some visible plate wear. Manuscript Roman numeral 'XLV' in old ink in lower right plate. |
| Framing | mounted |
| Price | £1,000.00 |
| Stock ID | 52770 |