Türkiye - Sinop; Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820–1895) - La Battaglia Navale di Sinop // - 1851-1860

Celebrated and detailed perspective view of the Battle of Sinop (November 30, 1853), considered the last great naval clash between wooden sailing ships and the crucial event that pushed Britain and France to enter the Crimean War.
The composition, masterfully executed by Georg Wilhelm Timm in 1854, documents the attack of the Black Sea Fleet, commanded by Vice-Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, against Osman Pasha's Ottoman squadron inside the fortified harbor.
The geographic setting faithfully depicts the characteristic coast of present-day Turkey (Black Sea region). In the background rise the mountainous profiles of the Anatolian peninsula, the city’s minarets and the fortifications shrouded in the thick smoke of bombardments. In the foreground on the shore (lower left) one can notice land defensive positions with soldiers and inhabitants in traditional Eastern 19th-century dress. The print excels in the dramatic smoke, the reflections on the water, and the meticulous realism of the forests and the line-of-battle ships.

Unique Feature: The Manuscript Title in Two Languages

This specific specimen presents a feature that makes it a unique, highly fascinating documentary piece. Due to the vintage trimming of the lower margin (where the printed text originally resided), a 19th-century collector or scholar has meticulously recreated and inscribed in ink on the left margin the full historical title, rendered both in English and in Russian (in pre-revolutionary Cyrillic characters):
1. Manuscript Title in Russian:
«Синопъ. Истребленіе турецкой эскадры Османа-Паши, при городѣ Синопѣ, эскадрою Черноморскаго Флота, подъ командою Вице-Адмирала Нахимова 18го Ноября 1853 года»
(Translation: Sinop. Destruction of Osman Pasha’s Turkish squadron, near the city of Sinop, by the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Nakhimov, November 18, 1853 – Note: the date follows the old Russian Julian calendar).

• Condition: Good/Fair. The upper, left, and right margins intact with minor foxing and age patina; a natural vertical central crease present.