Vue d'optique - Vue de l'église St Giles à Édimbourg.

Original engraving. Optical view heightened in watercolor, depicting a view of St Giles Church in Edinburgh.
Optical views, also called views, perspectives or "mondo nuovo", are engravings that were very popular between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They were intended to be observed through a set of multiple mirrors or by means of a Zograscope, an instrument consisting of a mirror and a lens. Optical views can be considered as the forerunners of three-dimensional images and stereoscopes which enjoyed great success from the 19th century onwards. Optical views seem to appear in the 1740s and were parlor entertainments. The process was first developed in Paris, then London and finally in Germany and aimed to represent - in an idealized manner - the most famous panoramas and landscapes of East and West.
Fine impression with very fresh colors.