Grignon Agricultural School, Court of Honor, Antique Print, 1873

This antique print of the Grignon agricultural school shows the court of honor of the Ecole d'Agriculture de Grignon in Seine-et-Oise, drawn by V. Rose and lithographed by Deroy for the French agricultural album of the Vienna Exposition, 1873. The chateau like main block stands at the head of the cour d'honneur with pavilions to either side and formal lawns running down the middle. The sheet was printed by Lemercier.

Grignon was the senior of the French agricultural schools, and this view records it as the ministry chose to present it at Vienna. It belongs with the album's views of the schools at Grandjouan and Montpellier.

The sheet comes from the folio of maps, plans and drawings that the Direction de l'Agriculture of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce assembled for its own exhibit at the Exposition Universelle held in Vienna in 1873, printed in Paris by the Imprimerie Nationale. The album gathered the statistical cartography, the model state farms, the breed portraits and the prize silver by which France meant to present its agriculture to the world. Its thematic maps belong to the first generation of printed statistical mapping, a field now collected for the history of data visualisation quite as much as for the history of farming.

The print is a lithograph, issued in 1873. It is uncolored. This antique print of the Grignon agricultural school would suit a study, library or office, and it will appeal to collectors of French architectural views and of agricultural or veterinary history.

The sheet is in good condition, with age toning, scattered foxing and minor marginal discoloration. Faint spotting and handling marks are visible in the lower margin. The toning is the ordinary result of age rather than damage. Please see the images for a full view of the condition.

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