Leaning Tower, Saragossa, Spain, Antique Engraving after E. George, circa 1878

A tall octagonal brick tower, richly patterned with blind arches and lozenge work, soars above a busy market square in this upright steel engraving. Its slight lean is visible against the open sky. To the left stands the baroque bell tower of a church, and to the right a street of tall houses with balconies and awnings leads away. Below, the square is crowded with market stalls under canvas, townspeople in capes and shawls, a laden donkey, a handcart and heaps of baskets and pots. A mule driver leads his laden animal up the street at the right, and the shadowed fronts of the houses emphasize the height and brightness of the tower.

The plate is lettered "The Leaning Tower, Saragossa." This was the Torre Nueva of Zaragoza in Aragon, a sixteenth-century clock tower in the Mudéjar brick style that developed a pronounced lean soon after it was built. It was demolished in 1892, which gives views like this one special documentary interest. The drawing is credited to E. George and the engraving to T. Heawood, and the imprint is that of Cassell, Petter & Galpin of London.

The technique is steel engraving, printed in black on wove paper and uncolored. Heawood renders the intricate brickwork of the tower in fine detail, while the lively figures in the square give a sense of everyday life in nineteenth-century Spain.

The strong vertical composition makes it an excellent choice for a narrow wall space, and it would pair well with other Spanish views in a simple dark frame.

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