engineering

Contemporary illustrations
of the Trollhätte Canal
19. SKJÖLDEBR A ND, Anders Frederik. Description des cataractes
et du canal de Trollhätta en Suède; avec un précis historique.
Stockholm, Charles Delén, 1804. 4º. With an aquatint title-page and 12
aquatint plates, including 1 map, all drawn and engraved by the author.
Contemporary grey-blue wrappers. € 850
First and only edition in the original French, of a richly illustrated description of
the waterfall, locks and canal near Trollhättan in Sweden. Although spectacular,
the waterfalls were a great obstacle in the transport of wood from Lake Vänern
in the interior of Sweden, to the port of Gothenburg. To navigate the cataracts
a canal was cut through solid rock. At the opening in 1800, eight locks could
raise and lower a ship 32 meters, making it finally possible to sail past Trollhättan
without reloading goods on horse-carts. The waterfall, canal and sluices became,
and still are, a popular destination for tourists, providing a market for this description
written and illustrated by count Anders Skjöldebrand (1757–1834). The book
describes the countryside, culture and feats of engineering near Tröllhattan,
starting with the etymology of the city’s name and ending with a critique of the
current state of the engineering works. A table gives the amount that passed the
sluices in 1800–1802.
Browned and foxed throughout, especially the plates, with waterstains at the top
and bottom corners. Spine tattered, with the final gathering and back cover partly
loose; otherwise a good copy.
Brunet V, col. 408; Myren, “Det äldre Trollhättan i konsten”, Historia och Historier om “Stranna” XI, pp. 3–32.