Samuel Buck, Nathaniel Buck

Samuel Buck (1696–1779) and his brother Nathaniel Buck (died between 1759 and 1774) were English engravers and printmakers.

• Sold as a set of 5.
• Copper engraving, printed on five sheets, framed and glazed individually.
• The most important panorama of London of its period.
• Samuel Buck and his brother Nathaniel are among the finest topographical artists to have worked in

England.

• From 1720 onwards, first Samuel and then his brothers toured England, drawing views of the cities and towns, castles, antiquities (particularly ruined monasteries) and other landmarks; they financed publication of this bold project by soliciting advance subscriptions.
• The crowning achievement of their long career, the most ambitious single view they had undertaken,

is this highly important prospect of London taken from the River Thames drawn from five vantage

points, and then blended into one continuous panorama, extending from Westminster Bridge

downstream to London Bridge and the Tower of London.

• While many other artists (including, Wenceslas Hollar, Jan Kip and William Morgan, among others) had published earlier panoramas from similar viewpoints, these early versions incorporated a great deal of artistic license to flatter London.
• The Bucks’ image is a faithful rendition, and its size, the detail and its accurate portrayal of London make it a definitive mid-18th century record of London, in an era of rapid change.
• The historical importance of the Buck panorama, its attention to minute detail in the search for accuracy and its artistic beauty make it one of the most important and collectible of any of the

images of historic London.

• Framed and glazed.