Hollar (Wenceslaus) London ... before [and] ... after the sad calamitie and destruction by Fire

Hollar (Wenceslaus)

A true and exact prospect of the famous citty of London ... before the fire [and] ... after the sad calamitie and destruction by Fire in the yeare MDCLXVI,

third state, [Pennington 1015.iii], etching printed from two plates, on two sheets of laid paper with fleur-de-lys armorial watermarks, horizontal cut along first view (joined), browned, tape residue in margins, backed onto muslin, plate 23 x 66.5 cm, sheet 38 x 69.5cm, John Overton at the White Horse, 1669-1707.

***In a diary entry of 22 November 1666, Samuel Pepys recounted: 'my Lord Brouncker did show me Holler's new print of the City, with a pretty representation of that part which is burnt, very fine indeed'.

Wenceslaus Hollar was working on a map of London when the Great Fire of London devastated the city. He managed to turn the situation to his advantage however, as this ‘before and after’ view was in circulation only a few months after.