Skip to content
AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED | EXPERT ADVICE
AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED

Plan des Attaques de la Ville de Bruxelles ou la Tranchée sud ouverte la nuit du 7. au 8. Février et qui s'est rendue le 19. Du meme mois de l'Anneé 1746.

Stock Code 90114

1746

Original price $12,782.00 - Original price $12,782.00
Original price $0.00
$12,782.00
$12,782.00 - $12,782.00
Current price $12,782.00
Large plan of the Siege of Brussels in 1746, beautifully drawn in bright watercolour.

The plan renders the city and the surrounding area in great detail, depicting rivers, canals, fortifications, field boundaries, street, gardens, and principal buildings. A key plan lists 113 buildings, gateways, and defensive points. To the left of the plan the French trenches are highlighted in yellow, with the range and direction of the artillery in red.

The Siege of Brussels took place between January and February 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession. A French army under the overall command of Maurice de Saxe, in a bold and innovative winter campaign besieged and captured the city of Brussels, which was then the capital of the Austrian Netherlands, from its Austrian garrison.

The French were boosted by the fact that a large part of the Allied army was forced to return to Britain where a Jacobite Rising of 1745 had broken out and Bonnie Prince Charlie had won a stunning victory at the Battle of Prestonpans. This left very few troops to actively oppose the French forces. After the French made two breaches in the walls of Brussels, the Austrian defenders were compelled to surrender on 22 February in a siege that lasted just three weeks.

The governor of the Austrian Netherlands, Count Kaunitz, was forced to withdraw his administration north to Antwerp. The siege severely damaged his view of Austria's allies, principally Britain and the Dutch Republic, who he considered had done virtually nothing to protect Brussels from the French. A decade later Kaunitz would be one of the architects of the Franco-Austrian Alliance in which Austria abandoned its former alliance with Britain and joined with its traditional enemy France.

The French followed up the capture of Brussels by taking other key cities and fortresses in the Austrian Netherlands including Mons and Namur. Brussels remained under French occupation until it was returned to Austria by the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle along with the rest of the Austrian Netherlands, although it was January 1749 before the French finally evacuated the city.

Manuscript plan with fine original hand-colour, dissected and mounted on linen, key below title and plan.
830 by 500mm (32.75 by 19.75 inches). Scale: (approx.) 15cm to 1km.
Provenance

Provenance: From the Library of the Dukes of Luynes, Chateau de Dampierre, France.

Delivery

We offer secure and express delivery on all local and international orders of rare books, maps and prints placed through this website.

About us

Shapero Rare Books is an internationally renowned dealer in antiquarian & rare books and works on paper.

Our Bookshop and Gallery can be found in the heart of Mayfair at 106 New Bond Street, where most of our stock is available to view and on public display.

We exhibit at major international art fairs, including TEFAF (Maastricht and New York), Frieze Masters, Art Miami and Masterpiece London, as well as antiquarian & rare book fairs including New York, Paris, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

Read more

Ask us a question

Plan des Attaques de la Ville de Bruxelles ou la Tranchée sud ouverte la nuit du 7. au 8. Février et qui s'est rendue le 19. Du meme mois de l'Anneé 1746.

GAYET.

Stock code: 90114

$12,782.00

THE BOND STREET EXPERIENCE

An exceptional experience in the heart of London’s Mayfair for not only seasoned collectors but those considering purchasing their first rare book or print.

Guaranteed Authenticity
GUARANTEED AUTHENTICITY
International Delivery
INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY
Meet Our Booksellers
MEET OUR BOOKSELLERS
Free Gift Wrapping
FREE GIFT WRAPPING

BOOK COLLECTING IDEAS

Your cart is empty

Continue shopping

Basket