View of the City of London with Old St. Paul's Cathedral before the Great Fire, from across the Thames with barges in the foreground

This view shows many of the city's major landmarks. From left to right, Baynard's Castle with the tower of St. Bride's church beyond, Old St. Paul's Cathedral (which lost its spire as early as 1651). The Square tower of St. Andrew's church is immediately left of it, and in front, Queenhithe, the square indentation in the riverbank. The Steelyard (for the German Hanse merchants) and Coldharbour, once the residence of merchants (also known as Shrewsbury Place), are also clearly identifiable. A number of church steeples including St. Mary-le-Bow (the most intricate square tower on the horizon) and St. Lawrence Pountney with its pointed steeple can also be identified. The barge beneath St. Paul's Cathedral is shown flying what may be the Union Jack and may therefore be a small royal barge.

Panoramic views of this type were in great demand during the 16th and 17th centuries and were regularly copied. The prototypes were central to the 17th century print market and were listed by Irene Scouloudi in her Panoramic Views of London 1600-1666. This work, however, does not follow any of the obvious prototypes such as Visscher, Merian or Hollar and differs by adopting a straight profile rathar than a bird's eye view. This particular viewpoint was pioneered by artists such as Claude de Jonghe and Cornelis Bol from the 1630s until the Great Fire.