Gosford’s Close. Taken Down. 1835.

This original antique steel engraving depicts Gosford’s Close, Edinburgh — one of the ancient closes running off the Royal Mile — as it appeared before its demolition in 1835.

Drawn by Sir Daniel Wilson and engraved by William Forrest for his landmark work Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time, published in 1848, this print is a rare and poignant record of a close that had already vanished from the city’s streets by the time the book appeared.

Gosford’s Close took its name from the Earls of Wintoun, whose Edinburgh residence — Seton House — was also known as Gosford House, and the close had formed part of the rich medieval streetscape of the Old Town for centuries before it was swept away in the wave of demolition that transformed Edinburgh in the 1830s.

Wilson’s determination to document such lost places before they were forgotten entirely gives this print a particular historical urgency and makes it a genuinely irreplaceable visual record.

This is a rare Proof impression, pulled before the main print run and of superior quality and rarity to a standard example. The print is on a thin paper that has been laid onto a thicker backing sheet — a feature seen in a number of proof impressions from this series.

Subscript: Lower Left: D. Wilson. Lower Right: W. Forrest. Lower Center: Published by Hugh Paton, Adam Square, Edinburgh. Proof.

Author: Sir Daniel Wilson, F. R. S. S. A. (1816–1892)

Publication: Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time. By Daniel Wilson, F. S. S. A. Acting Secretary to the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland.

Volume: 1

Publisher: Hugh Paton / Simpkin, Marshall, & Co.

Place of Publication: Adam Square, Edinburgh / London

Date: 1848

Artist: Sir Daniel Wilson, F. R. S. S. A. (1816–1892)

Engraver: William Forrest

Page Number: Between pages 180–181

Paper Dimensions: 12 x 9 ⅝ inches

Medium: Steel Engraving

Impression: Proof

Language: English

Coloured: Black and white

Condition: The print is in great condition with some faint spots of foxing on the bottom and right side of the print, as well as some wear around the edges, as can be seen. The print is on a thin paper that has been adhered to a thicker paper behind it, as can be seen.

Reference: Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time, HathiTrust Digital Library