The Rotunda in the Bank of England, London, 1804

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, in upright format, lettered "The Rotunda in the Bank of England." The view shows the great domed hall of the Bank crowded with people doing business. A coffered dome rises to a lantern ringed with windows, a gallery with arched windows circles the drum, and tall arched recesses line the walls below, with a clock over the central doorway. On the floor men in top hats and tailcoats crowd around counters and a central table, a woman in a long gown stands among them, and a small dog sits at the lower right.

The title is engraved in script below the image, with the artist's credit "Pugh Delt" at lower left; no engraver is named. The imprint above the image reads "Published March 20 1804. by Richard Phillips No 71 St Pauls Church Yard."

The plate comes from Modern London; Being the History and Present State of the British Metropolis, printed for Richard Phillips, No. 71, St. Paul's Church-Yard, by C. Mercier and Co., Northumberland-court, Strand, in 1804, and "illustrated with numerous copper plates." Many of its topographical views were drawn by Edward Pugh, a Welsh painter working in London, and engraved on copper by several London engravers, each of whom signed his own plate. The Rotunda was rebuilt by John Soane in the 1790s and was used as a hall for dealings in government stock.

Its upright format and financial subject make it a good choice for an office or a banker's study.

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