Mont Royal-Ville Marie: vues et plans anciens de Montreal / Early Plans and Views of Montreal by Conran Graham & Shahin Farzaneh
4to. 159. b/w illustrations, some colour. biographical notes. bibliography. paperback (near fine - covers bit discoloured at edges, slight crease to upper right corner). Montreal: McCord Museum of Canadian History, [1992].
ISBN-10: 0773509690 / ISBN-13: 9781895615036
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From as early as the seventeenth century, Montreal was the subject of numerous drawings and watercolours. The area was initially mapped by French surveyors and later depicted in the British topographical tradition by artists and military officers whose training included instruction in draughtsmanship. Taken from a variety of collections in addition to the McCord's, these examples of plans and views provide a fascinating cross section of the range of styles of representation until the 1850s and the advent of photography as well as illustrating the growth of Montreal from a fur trade settlement into a metropolitan centre. Each illustration is thoroughly documented and its historical and stylistic context is analysed. Biographical information on the artists is also included