VAR (83) - FREJUS - View of "Fréjus". c.1650. Etching engraved by Israël SILVESTRE (Nancy 1621 - Paris 1691), after Louis de Lincler (active in the 17th century). Printed on two joined leaves. Proof with artists' names, title and text in Latin and French, without Mariette's name, on laid paper. Margins. RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL XVIIth CENTURY ENGRAVED PANORAMA. Text in tablet: "The town of Frejus, otherwise forum julii, is in Provence. It is Episcopal, and its location near the Mediterranean Sea in a very beautiful spot gave the Romans reason to build all the things that adorn and embellish a city; the remains of the Amphitheatre, large enough to accommodate several thousand men, are clear evidence of this, as is the magnificent Acqueduct outside the city, whose water was used for bathing, and produced a number of fountains. Frejus once had a large harbour, which has now dried up as the sea has withdrawn". On the left is the same inscription in three Latin lines. 21.5 x 82.8 cm copperplate. 29 x 85.8 cm per sheet. Condition A/B (two slight traces of old vertical soft folds, light stains at top left and top margin, a few restored marginal tears).