A fine and scarce lithograph of the northwest of Paris, showing the region now known as the Third and Eleventh Arrondissements. At the time when this lithograph was produced, this area was part of the Eighth Arrondissements (out of twelve), with parts of neighboring districts tinted to a darker color. The view is stated as taken from above Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, suggesting that the basis of this work likely came from a sketch taken from a hot air balloon.
This print came from a set produced by the Sebastian Avanzo publishing house, lithographed by Jules Arnout, and drawn by Nicolas Chapuy. The set, Paris et ses Arrondissemens, shows each of the twelve districts of Paris in magnificent detail, with building-by-building demarcation easily visible and detail extending to individual windows and features. The images produced as part of this project are a remarkable preservation of the nineteenth-century layout of the city and came nearly exactly one hundred years after the previous great aerial view of the city produced under Michel-Étienne Turgot.
This image shows the region around the Place des Vosges and the Colonne de Juillet, on the Place de la Bastille. Commonly referred to as the Marais, this part of Paris and the nearby Canal-Saint-Martin are considered very trendy parts of the city. In the distance of the view, smokestacks show the industrial nature of the city at the time. Not far away from these features, fields extend into the distance. The view also includes an inset of the coast of the Seine between the Pont D'Austerlitz and the Port de la Rapee.