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“ … One  of  the  Greatest  Sailors  of  Total  History ”

Drake – Houbraken, J(acobus) (Dordrecht 1698 – Amsterdam 1780). Sr Francis Drake. Half-length portrait in oval on a socle decorated with the representation of a naval action (5.5 x 8.5 cm) along with rich maritime ornaments, among them crown with sharps formed by hulls, Neptune’s trident, oar and pennant, anchor, cannons and balls, and nautical instruments as telescope, globe, chart rolls, hour-glass and Jacob’s staff. Engraving. 36.4 x 22.6 cm.

Splendid  impression , rich  of  contrast ,

with slight plate dirt on especially wide-margined strong hand-made paper.

Houbraken, an “elegant, excellent engraver” (Wurzbach), is “the most important and most fertile portrait engraver of the 18^th century” (Thieme-Becker). The sheet here probably from Thomas Birch’s “Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain” published in London 1743-52 :

(Wurzbach).

Vice admiral Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596), joined inseparably with the long fight between England and Spain for the predominance on the oceans, was one of the few commanders acting with independent determination like but 200 years after him again admiral Nelson :

“ Among the great captains, discoverers, and freebooters England’s of this Elisabethan age from 1558 to 1603 Francis Drake, one of the greatest sailors of total history, comes first. He was the most eminent among the ‘Merchant Adventurers’ … ”

(Lächler-Wirz, Schiffe der Völker, p. 344).

Here so the chance

to  join  the  early  famous  naval  hero  with  the  own  collection .

Offer no. 28,857 / EUR  670. / export price EUR  637. (c. US$ 855.) + shipping