FITTLER (James).
Description of the print of Earl Howe's Victory over the French Fleet, June the First, 1794,
VERY RARE
A rare and informative commemoration of the first major fleet battle of the French Revolutionary War, 1793-1802. There is a lovely engraved illustration duplicating Loutherbourg’s painting complete with a key showing the 15 ships that took part. On the verso beneath the engraved image is an “Index to the Ships Represented in the Print of Earl Howe’s Victory…” All 31 British ships are listed, along with their number of guns, as are the 26 French ships.
There is a roughly 900 word description of the image “taken … when Earl Howe, Commander-in-Chief, on board the QUEEN CHARLOTTE, having manoeuvred the Fleet so as to bring the enemy to close action, and having borne up for that purpose … is seen passing between the MONTAGNE the French Admiral, which was to windward and the Sans Pareil to the leeward…” A description of the battle follows, which was initiated by the French who sought to intercept a fleet of ships carrying grain from America.
Not in ESTC, not in OCLC, not in COPAC. We locate a single copy in the Government Art Collection at Whitehall (GAC: 1554A).
