"[Untitled - Map VII and VIII of the Spanish Armada in the English Channel]", Pine, John

Subject: Southern England, English Channel
Period: 1739 (dated)
Publication: The Tapestry Hangings of the House of Lords
Color: Black & White
Size: 14.5 x 23.4

This striking sheet depicts the English fleet pursuing the Spanish past Portsmouth to Dover during the British defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. This sheet is part of a set of engraved reproductions of tapestries that had hung in the House of Lords, each depicting maps and views of the battle during different stages of the fight. The defeat of the Spanish Armada was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War, and represented a defining moment of Elizabeth I's reign. The original tapestries were commissioned by Lord Howard of Effingham, who had led the English fleet against the Armada, and were based on drawings by the British artist Robert Adams. Hendrik Cornelius Vroom (c. 1563-1640) used the drawings to create the designs for the tapestries. Howard sold the tapestries to King James I in 1616, and they hung in the House of Lords from 1650 until they were destroyed in a fire in 1834. John Pine had the foresight to create engraved reproductions of the tapestries in 1739, collaborating with Hubert-François Gravelot on the drawings. The maps were engraved and printed separately from the outer baroque border, with the maps printed in blue ink and the border printed in black ink.
Condition: B+
A nice impression with light soiling and a minor printer's crease at bottom left. Trimmed close to neatline on all sides with margins extended with old paper.