Classis Hispanica 30 Maii Anno 1588. Lisbona Angliam contra emissa…

Hand coloured engraving, early state, wide margins, toning, 255 x 330mm, [Cologne c.1598]

A fine copper engraving after Frans Hogenburg, showing the English fleet attacking the Spanish Armada in the Strait of Dover, at the Battle of Gravelines, 28th July, 1588. The print shows a mass of ships engaged in battle, with smoke and flames engulfing several ships. Land on either side is visible, with several cities named, including Calais and Dover. Probably after Frans Hogenberg (1535-90), the son of a Munich engraver who settled in Malines. He engraved most of the plates for Ortelius’s Theatrum and the majority of those in the Civitates, and may have been responsible for originating the project. He also produced broadsheets on the French and Netherlandish religious wars from 1569, continued after his death by his son Abraham.

Provenance: Caren Archive; their sale, Bonhams New York, 7 April 2014, lot 9.