Extremely rare broadsheet with at top a two-part engraving comprising a profile view (ca. 5 x 22 cm) and a bird's-eye plan (ca. 10.5 x 22 cm) of the Dutch fortress Schenckenschans together with a caption in Spanish (mentioning the place where the broadsheet is for sale, the argument for the attribution of the engraving to Cornelis de Beer). Beneath the engraving is a letterpress text in Spanish concerning the fortification (including a description of the successful Spanish assault) concluded by a key (A-Q) to the bird's-eye plan and the imprint.
There appears to be only one other copy of this broadsheet, present in the collection of the Biblioteca Nacional de España.
During the Eighty Years War (1568-1648) the Schenckenschans fortress - strategically situated on an island at the confluence of the Rhine and Waal river - was considered "the eastern gateway to Holland" for the Spanish armies approaching from the German countries. Due to the course of the Rhine river changing, the fortification is now incorporated in the landscape between the Dutch village of Tolkamer and the German city of Kleve.
Born in Utrecht around 1585, the artist of the engraving, the interesting Carraveggist painter, engraver, publisher, and art dealer Cornelis de Beer was a pupil of Abraham Bloemaert and Joachim Wtewael. In 1618, he moved to Madrid where he became a well-known painter, printmaker, and art dealer. He stayed there until his death in 1651.
The left margin is somewhat frayed (barely affecting the text) and a small water stain, further with some folds in the paper, otherwise in good condition. Almirante, Biblioteca militar de España, no. 689; Los Austrias: grabados de la Biblioteca Nacional, no. 301; Pohler, Bibliotheca historico-militaris, no. 248; Thieme/Becker, 3, p. 166; Guido de Werd, Schenckenschanz (Kleve, 1986); WorldCat 1135246940/870133143 (1 copy).