Plan von dem Schelde Fluss und der Stadt Antwerpen.

Engr., 19 x 29 cm with a sm. map of 9,5 x 12 cm, laid paper (plate tone, sm. defects).

Wall map represented on a rare German caricature print, entitled "Vorstellung des Kupferstichs, die Lage von Holland betreffend : S.M. der Kayser und der König von Frankreich [...]", summarising a tactical tour de force by Joseph II in 1784-1785. Joseph insisted in opening the Scheldt, promising the Bavarian Elector Charles Theodore all the territory of the Austrian Netherlands except Luxemburg, which he offered to France in return for diplomatic support. When France eventually did not get Luxemburg, the French king informed Frederick the Great who intervened by convincing the German princes that Joseph formed a threat to the empire’s territorial integrity. The print represents a parody of the political difficulties. Emperor Joseph II and King Louis XVI are together in a conference room carving a round of Dutch cheese. Frederick II of Prussia enters the room, puts his hand on the shoulder of the French king and asks what they are doing. When the French king replies that they are dividing Holland, Frederick claims that he too likes a piece of Dutch cheese. Meanwhile, the Elector of Cologne takes all the crumbs.
Ref. Representation de cette estampe touchant les affaires d'Holland (Fr. ed.). The University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The Popular Imagery Collection, Box 1, Item 45. Coxe 1807, pp. 590-600. - BnF.