Fort at the Mouth of the Nile near Damietta, Antique Print, 1776

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, showing a fort at the mouth of the Nile near Damietta in view and plan. The caption reads first in French Fort à l'Embouchure du Nil, près de Damiât. and then in Dutch Kasteel aan de Uitwatering van den Nyl, by Damiât., meaning fort at the mouth of the Nile, near Damietta.

The upper view, lettered B, shows a large round tower of coursed stone with small windows and an arched door, where figures stand. A slender tower rises from its top, crowned with a crescent, and a flag flies above the parapet. To the right a lower walled battery holds two cannon, one firing a cloud of smoke. The fort stands on a low spit of land, with a boat under a lateen sail at the left and a flight of birds in the sky. The lower half gives two plans: at the left, C and D, a long rectangular enclosure with a narrow inner passage leading to a rounded chamber, and at the right, A, two overlapping rings, one open where a doorway breaks the wall.

The credit C. J. de Huyser, direx. is lettered under the lower left corner of the image, and the plate number Tab. IX. is engraved at the upper right.

The plate comes from the first volume of Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, the French translation of Carsten Niebuhr's account, its title page reading TOME PREMIER. Traduit de l'Allemand. A AMSTERDAM, chez S. J. BAALDE. A UTRECHT, chez J. VAN SCHOONHOVEN & COMP. MDCCLXXVI. Carsten Niebuhr (1733 to 1815) was a German born surveyor in Danish service and the only member of the Danish expedition to Arabia (1761 to 1767), sent by King Frederick V of Denmark, to return alive. The account was first published in German at Copenhagen; this is the French translation printed in Amsterdam and Utrecht.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom and left edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. All four corners are present.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.