Rambouillet National Sheepfold, Main Court, Antique Print, 1873

This antique print of the Rambouillet national sheepfold shows the principal court of the Bergerie Nationale de Rambouillet in Seine-et-Oise, drawn by V. Rose and lithographed by Deroy for the French agricultural album of the Vienna Exposition, 1873. Low farm ranges enclose a yard with a circular shrubbery at its centre, and a rusticated arched gateway stands in the foreground wall.

This is the home of the Merino flock shown in the 1786 and 1873 plates, and with those two sheets it tells the story of the Rambouillet flock.

The sheet comes from the folio of maps, plans and drawings that the Direction de l'Agriculture of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce assembled for its own exhibit at the Exposition Universelle held in Vienna in 1873, printed in Paris by the Imprimerie Nationale. The album gathered the statistical cartography, the model state farms, the breed portraits and the prize silver by which France meant to present its agriculture to the world. Its thematic maps belong to the first generation of printed statistical mapping, a field now collected for the history of data visualisation quite as much as for the history of farming.

The print is a lithograph, issued in 1873. It is uncoloured. This antique print of the Rambouillet national sheepfold would suit a study, library or office, and it will appeal to collectors of French architectural views and of agricultural or veterinary history.

The sheet is in good condition, with age toning, scattered foxing and minor marginal discolouration, including faint staining at the upper right. The toning is the ordinary result of age rather than damage. Please see the images for a full view of the condition.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.