Brussels Map 1851 Tallis Town Plan Print with Hotel de Ville Vignettes - Palais Royal, St. Gudule, Anderlecht

John Tallis published this town plan of Brussels in London in 1851. It is a remarkable representation of the Belgian capital, notable for the striking vignettes that give the plan a unique charm and aesthetic. The vignettes show prominent landmarks and key areas of the city: the Hotel de Ville, the Palace Royal, an Avenue in the Park, a View from near Port Anderlecht, and the Church of St. Gudule. Each is drawn with exquisite attention to detail, so that the sheet works both as a practical guide to the streets and as a small gallery of the city's architecture. Tallis published the plan in London in the year of the Great Exhibition, and its pastel coloring and fine lettering reflect the care his workshop gave to its town plans.

Tallis was one of the last great decorative map makers, and his distinctive style, which integrates indigenous scenes and people into the design, makes his work highly sought after. Town plans are rare in his output, since they appear in only a small percentage of his works, which were mostly regional maps. That makes this plan a relatively scarce find, and the catalog calls it an exceptional portrayal of the city in the nineteenth century. Tallis himself was born in the Midlands, came to London in the 1840s, and published his Illustrated World Atlas for the Great Exhibition of 1851, with maps engraved by John Rapkin. The Brussels plan is therefore a good choice for anyone who wants a Tallis sheet that is not simply another regional map.

A collector of decorative plans, a traveler who has walked Brussels, or a family with roots in the Belgian capital will find a distinctive gift here. TheMapVault's Tallis map of Belgium from the same year shows the whole country with its own vignettes, whereas this sheet is given to the capital alone. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print.