• Title : Plan of the City of Aire and Fort of St. Francis with a view of St.Venant
  Sep. 28, 1708
• Size: 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
• Ref #:  22218
• Date : 1745
• Condition: (A+) Fine Condition

Description:
This beautifully hand coloured original copper-plate engraved antique map, plan & birds eye view of the French city of Aire-sur-la-Lys, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France along with Fort St Francis and Fort St Venant - used by Lord Marlborough during the Spanish War of Succession (1701-13) - was engraved by John Basire and was published in the 1745 edition of Nicholas Tindals Continuation of Mr. Rapin\'s History of England.

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Early
Colors used: - Pink, blue, green, yellow
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Plate size: - 19 1/2in x 15 1/2in (495mm x 395mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None

Background: 
Aire-sur-la-Lys is located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Saint-Omer, by the banks of the Leie and the Laquette rivers.
It is mentioned for the first time in 857 and developed around a fort or castrum built by Baldwin II, Count of Flanders in response to the Norman invasions. More growth followed with the establishment of the Collegiate church of Saint-Pierre by Baldwin V, Count of Flanders.
The town was laid siege ten times between 1127 and 1710. It was separated from the County of Flanders and attached to the County of Artois in 1196. Subsequently ruled by the Burgundians then by the Spanish.
The town was besieged in 1676 by Vauban and retaken for France, although it remained a Spanish possession until 14 April 1713, when, by the Treaty of Utrecht, it finally became a part of France.