Normandy was a popular destination for artists: painters like Turner, photographers like Tenison, but also engravers who reproduced their creations. Published in 1820 and 1825, the Architectural Antiquities of Normandy contains 97 engravings produced by John Sell Cotman. The very detailed descriptions were written by the antiques collector Dawson Turner.

The French edition, les Antiquités monumentales de la Normandie, published in 1881 by A. Lévy, diplays 100 plates drawn and engraved by John Cotman, with historical and descriptive notes by Paul Louisy.

The introduction is written by Charles de Beaurepaire, senior archivist in charge of the department of Seine-Inférieure during 50 years.