Plan of the city & Castle of Chester, Survey'd and Drawn by Alexander de Lavaux.

A rare and important plan of the city of Chester was engraved by Parr but surveyed and drawn by a Dutch engineer, Alexandre De Lavaux.
Two large and imposing cartouches contain the dedication, at the top left, to the Earl of Cholmondley, Lord Lieutenant of the County, and Governor and Chamberlain of the city and castle, while the title appears at lower right.
A very nice example of one of the earliest large-scale plans of the city. The detail is remarkable with, as was the fashion at the time, notable town resident’s buildings being identified as are all of the roads including, even the Maypole on Northgate Street. It also includes the names of the owners of some of the houses and properties.

The decorative title and dedication cartouches are very large and stupendous. Each has a coat of arms, figures, and animals. There is a pleasing compass rose with north to the north-west. The engraver was R. Parr.

Alexander De Lavaux was born in Berlin and had the rank of lieutenant and engineer at his entrance into Prussian service. 1744 saw his expulsion from the military service. Within two years, Lavaux must have traveled to Chester and begun work on his map.
Lavaux's reasons for coming to Chester remain unknown, but the map is dedicated to George Cholmondeley, who was Vice-Admiral of Cheshire at the time, and appears to have Dutch ancestry through his mother. .

Reference: Refer Tooley, Cheshire in ‘The Map Collector’ no. 17 p. 25 Ch44.