Kotlin Island from a bird's eye view in an antique lithograph from the 19th century. View of the island, harbours and fortifications of Kronstadt, with distant views of the mouth of the Neva and St. Petersburg.

Image size: 29×51 cm
Pastedown size: 56,5×68 cm

The lithograph was created during the Crimean War of 1853-1856 between the Russian Empire and Great Britain, France, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Excellent collector's condition, foxing is missing. A possible prototype was a view of Kotlin Island published in Moscow (April 8, 1855, censor V. Flerov; publisher Rudnev). Another version of the prototype (?) under the name "Bird's perspective of the island, harbors and fortifications of Kronstadt (with a distant view of the mouth of the Neva and St. Petersburg)" is in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum under the inventory number ERG-27301. An alternative version of the prototype's origin can be considered in the lithograph by Edmund Walker based on Nathaniel Whittock's " Birds eye view of the island, harbours and fortifications of Cronstadt with a distant view of the mouths of the Neva, the City of St. Petersburg and the head of the Gulf of Finland " (University of Wisconsin-Madison Library; accession number 675-d .K76 M-[1854?]).

Most likely, the author of the drawing is Staff Captain Eric Svensson. A reference to his authorship is found in the Austrian lithograph "Bird's eye view of the island, harbours and fortifications of Kronstadt with a distant view of the mouth of the Neva, the city of St. Petersburg and the upper end of the Gulf of Finland. Lithograph (drafted) by A. Kaiser from sketches made on site by Eric Sweynson, staff captain, in 1853" (VOGEL-PERSPEKTIVE INSEL, DER VÄND DER BAPTISTUNGEN VON KRONSTADT mit der Nea-Mündungen von St. Petersburg und des oberen ende des Finnischen Meerbusens lithograph. A. Kaiser on the map, at the entrance and exit of Eric Sweynson, Genius Master, written in 1853). A well-known example of Austrian lithography is the Austrian National Library (Signatur/Inv-Nr. etc.: FKB-Vues Russland, Kronstadt KAR MAG).

During the Crimean War, the Kronstadt Fortress played a decisive role in repelling the attack of the Anglo-French squadron. The powerful line of fortress defense and the first minefields in the world were an insurmountable obstacle. On May 20, 1855, the English squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral Dundas, consisting of 20 large ships and 7 gunboats, approached the Kronstadt roadstead. On May 18, French ships joined them, after which the combined fleet began to number about 70 ships. During reconnaissance operations, four ships were blown up by minefields, and Dundas was forced to interrupt the operation and withdraw the squadron. Ultimately, the Anglo-French squadrons only blockaded St. Petersburg for two years, but did not try to approach Kronstadt anymore.

Excellent condition, in pastedown. With the stamp of the publisher.