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Description

The First Realistic General View of Montreal -- Rare First State 

Fine early view of Montreal, drawn by Thomas Patten during the Seven Years War, shortly after the capture of the town by the British.

The view shows a number of sailing ships in the foreground, with the city of Montreal in the distance. Patten shows the town from the River or St. Helen's island.  Ships and rowboats filled with soldiers occupy the waters of the town. Mount Royal is shown in the background

As noted in Montreal in Evolution . . .:

The first realistic general view of Montreal was drawn by Thomas Patten, a skilled British officer in the army of General Amherst; it is dated 1762 and confirms the low population density of Montreal at the end of the French regime. On Patten's document, most dwellings are two stories high, or two and a half including attics. . . .

This is one of a series of six views of remarkable places in the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence. Smyth's drawings were drawn on the spot and juxtaposed the British forces against dramatic Canadian landscapes.  The complete set includes:

  • A View of the City of Quebec, the Capital of Canada. Taken partly from Pointe des Peres, and partly on board the Vanguard Man of War.
  • A View of the Fall of Montmorenci and the Attack made by General Wolfe.
  • A View of Cape Rouge or Carouge, Nine Miles above the City of Quebec.
  • A View of Gaspe Bay, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
  • A View of Miramichi, a French Settlement in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
  • A View of the Pierced Island, a remarkable Rock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Rarity

The view is extremely rare in the first state.  We locate no other examples on the market in many decades. 

The American Art Association offer a complete set of the six views for sale on February 14, 1928 (Lot 86), in The Notable Library formed by the late Col. Rhinelander Waldo of New York City.  Another set was offered by Maggs in 1915 (Catalog 334-859) for the princely sum of 52.10 GBP.

Provenance

Ombersley Court, Worcestershire, United Kingdom; Sold by the Trustees of the Sandys Trust at Sotheby's London, 14 May 2019, Lot 61.

Reference
Marsan, Montreal in Evolution: Historical Analysis of the Development of Montreal's ...: (Montreal 1974)