• Main product image (cropped): Antique steel engraving Reid’s Close Canongate Edinburgh proof impression 1848 Daniel Wilson William Forrest Hugh Paton Memorials of Edinburgh
  • Main product image (full print): Antique steel engraving Reid’s Close Canongate Edinburgh proof impression 1848 Daniel Wilson William Forrest Hugh Paton Memorials of Edinburgh
  • Close-up of engraving detail: Close up detail antique steel engraving Reid’s Close Canongate Edinburgh 1848 ancient close stonework Old Town
  • Close-up of inscription: Inscription antique proof impression Reid’s Close Canongate published Hugh Paton Adam Square Edinburgh drawn Daniel Wilson engraved William Forrest 1848
  • Condition/paper detail: Aged paper antique steel engraving Reid’s Close Canongate Edinburgh 1848 original proof impression minor foxing edge wear with measurements
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Victoria Cooper Antique Prints

Reid’s Close, Canongate. 1848.

Reid’s Close, Canongate. 1848.

$100.00 USD
$100.00 USD
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This original antique steel engraving depicts Reid’s Close in the Canongate — one of the ancient closes running off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile — drawn by Sir Daniel Wilson and engraved by William Forrest for his landmark two-volume work Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time, published in 1848.

The Canongate was the historic heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, home to nobles, merchants, and craftsmen for centuries, and its closes and wynds formed a labyrinthine world of narrow passageways and tenement life that Wilson was determined to document before modernisation swept them away.

Reid’s Close is one of the many intimate and atmospheric corners of the Old Town captured in this extraordinary publication, and Wilson’s precise draughtsmanship brings its ancient stonework vividly to life.

This print is a rare Proof impression, pulled before the main print run and considered of superior quality and greater rarity than a standard example — a particularly desirable piece for collectors of Scottish history and Edinburgh topography.

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 216–217

Paper Dimensions: 12 x 9 ¼ inches

Medium: Steel Engraving

Impression: Proof

Language: English

Coloured: Black and white

Condition: The print is in great condition with some minor spots of foxing across the print and some wear around the edges, as can be seen.

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

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