Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, Antique Steel Engraving after T. Allom, circa 1850

A fine steel engraving of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, seen from across the Seine. The two square west towers rise at left, and the long body of the cathedral stretches to the right, with the great rose window of the south transept, the forest of flying buttresses around the apse and the steep roof. No central spire crowns the crossing, which places the drawing before the restoration of the mid nineteenth century.

The river in the foreground is crowded with long covered washhouse boats moored along the bank, smoke rising from their chimneys and laundry hanging in rows. A stone bridge crosses the river at left, a barge passes under the quay wall, and on the parapet at right a woman in a tall white cap and a man in a broad hat stand looking out over the water.

The plate was drawn by Thomas Allom and engraved by J.H. Le Keux, one of the most accomplished architectural engravers of his day. The script title reads "Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris." No publisher's imprint appears on the sheet.

The technique is steel engraving of a high order: the tracery of the rose window and the buttresses is drawn with great precision, the stone of the quay in close horizontal lines, and the sky in delicate ruled tones. The printed image is clean.

For anyone who loves Notre Dame, this early view of the cathedral and its working river makes a meaningful piece for a study or a bedroom, framed simply in black or dark walnut.

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