The Netherbow Port From the East. Taken Down 1764.

This original antique steel engraving depicts The Netherbow Port from the East — one of the most celebrated and historically significant buildings ever to stand in Edinburgh — as it appeared before its demolition in 1764.

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 preserves the memory of a building that had defined the eastern gateway of Edinburgh’s Old Town for centuries.

The Netherbow Port was the principal gate in Edinburgh’s city wall, separating the burgh of Edinburgh from the separate burgh of Canongate below, and was the scene of some of the most dramatic moments in Scottish history — from royal processions and state executions to the surprise capture of the gate by Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite forces in 1745, just nineteen years before its demolition.

Its loss was mourned by historians and antiquarians for generations, and Wilson’s careful reconstruction of its appearance — drawn from earlier sources nearly a century after it was torn down — makes this one of the most historically resonant prints in the entire Memorials series. An exceptional piece for collectors of Scottish history, Edinburgh topography, and Jacobite history.

Subscript: Lower Left: D. Wilson. Lower Right: Engraved by W. Forrest. Lower Center: The Netherbow Port From the East. Taken Down 1764.

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: 2

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 54–55

Paper Dimensions: 9 ¾ x 7 ⅜ inches

Medium: Steel Engraving

Language: English

Coloured: Black and white

Condition: The print is in great condition with some creasing on the right side of the print, as can be seen. The print is on a thin paper that was likely originally adhered to a thicker paper behind it, but the backing sheet is no longer present — it is simply the thin paper alone.

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