The Pass of Pancorbo, Spain, Antique View of the Rock Defile, circa 1850

A view of the rock defile of Pancorbo in northern Spain, an original antique steel engraving, uncolored, circa 1850. The caption beneath the image reads DER PASS VON PANCORVO / in Spanien, in English the Pancorbo pass in Spain.

Sheer walls of rock with near-vertical strata close in from the left and the right, with a tall pale rock mass rising at the center and the gap opening behind it under a clouded sky. A road winds into the pass from the foreground, where a covered wagon drawn by two horses travels along it in the middle distance and a small arched shrine topped by a cross stands at its right-hand side. In the left foreground a group of travelers rests on flat rocks, one man in a cloak gesturing toward the pass, others seated around him.

No artist or engraver is named on the sheet. Below the caption, the imprint at the left reads Aus d. Kunstanst. d. Bibliogr. Inst. in Hildbh. (from the art works of the Bibliographisches Institut in Hildburghausen), and at the right Eigenthum d. Verleger (property of the publishers). A plate number is engraved at the top right, above the image.

The imprint is that of Meyer's Universum, a serial collection of engraved views with descriptive text, published by Joseph Meyer's Bibliographisches Institut at Hildburghausen from 1833, its plates engraved on steel. The sheet comes from a dealer's album rather than from a bound set.

Handling soiling along the right and top edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Corners and edges are not shown by this scan. Clean, even paper tone in the margin.

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