The famous ‘Queen Anne View’ of Edinburgh

A fine two-sheet prospect of Edinburgh, drawn c.1690 but in this state dedicated to Queen Anne (1665-1714 but queen from 1702), with the expression 'North Britain' for Scotland which was in vogue for a few years after the Act of Union of 1707. The view looks down on the city from Calton Hill, with Holyrood House on the left, Edinburgh Castle on the right and Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat behind. John Slezer (pre-1650- 1717), a Germanic military engineer, came to Scotland in 1669, and later held the posts of 'Captain of the Train of Artillery of Scotland' and 'Surveyor of his Majesties Stores and Magazines', which involved compiling detailed surveys of the country's fortifications. Being a Jacobite he spent a year in prison after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 for refusing to swear allegiance to William & Mary. He was released in 1689 when he accepted the new monarchy and was reinstated to his posts. In 1693 he published the 'Theatrum Scotiae', a series of engravings of views of castles, abbeys, towns, and seats of the nobility, the first time an artist had made a pictorial record of an entire nation. It was not a success and, despite Parliament offering financial support, Slezer spend the last years of his life in the Holyrood Abbey sanctuary to avoid prison. Bizarrely he could freely move around the city on Sundays, and continued as Captain of the 'Train of Artillery of Scotland' until the year before his death.