Etching and drypoint, 1650. 88x157 mm; 3 1/2x6 1/4 inches, narrow to thread margins. Biörklund's fourth state (of 4); Usticke's third state (e) (of 3), with the diagonal stroke through the letter "b" in the signature ditinct ; White and Boon's fourth state (of 4); New Hollstein's third state (of 3). Ex-collection Pierre Mariette II, dated 1691 in ink (Lugt 1790, verso); Colnaghi's, London, with their inventory number in pencil verso; acquired from Percival Doxbury (1872-1945), Bredbury, Cheshire, in 1928 by the heirs of Lilian Honor Lewis.
A brilliant, dark and richly-inked impression of this extremely scarce landscape etching, with very strong contrasts and no sign of wear, with crisp, partially inky plate edges, with abundant burr throughout and with the delicate vertical wiping scratches in the sky distinct, consistent with the earliest impressions of this subject. Bartsch 218; Biörklund 50-C; Hollstein (White and Boon) 218.
