During the eighteenth century the city of Augsburg became a significant centre of publishing. One of its specialities was a series of panoramic views published by the Probst family. They included engravers and publishers and began with Johann Balthasar Probst (1689-1750). He married the daughter of Jeremias Wolff an artist who published panoramic views. George Balthasar Probst (1732-1801) was one of several children who worked in the business and was also son-in-law to Mattheus Seutter the map maker. He specialised in optical views and town plans.

This is a very attractive large panorama of the city of London which includes a detailed key identifying 70 notable buildings in German in the two insets in the upper corners, Latin lower right half and English in the lower left half. It extends from Somerset House in the west to the Tower of London in the east. The title above in a scrolled banner bears the Royal Arms and the City Crest either side of it. The Thames River is busy with various sized boats plying their trade. London Bridge is depicted burdened with large houses which were eventually cleared in 1756. According to Ralph Hyde this is the second state of 3 with the addition of ‘No. 33 …’ lower centre. One other example is known to him at the British Library. Tooley’s Dictionary.