La Habana: vista general tomada desde la entrada del puerto.

A splendid, large lithographed view of the city of Havana as seen from the north, beautifully and subtly colored. The viewer is situated above the sea, looking into the mouth of the harbour, with the lighthouse and fortress (Castillo de Los Tres Reyes del Morro, built 1590- 1640) to the left and the smaller fortress (Santo Domingo de Atarés) and the city itself to the right.
The city walls, built 1671-1740 and almost completely demolished 1863-1880, are clearly depicted. On the lighthouse, one can see the name of the governor of Cuba, (Leopoldo) O'Donnell and the date 1844, when he ruthlessly suppressed a supposed plot. Dozens of boats of various kinds appear in the foreground and the harbour, with one steam-powered ship and several sailing ships rendered in great detail. The view is surrounded by a linear border and has a short title in English ("General View of Havana") and French.
The artist Leonardo Barañano and lithographer Eduardo Laplante (b. 1818) produced at least eight lithographs of Cuba in the present series, all in a matching style, though printed by at least three different printers. Pintura española, nos. 10-13, records only four and dates them all 1856. It does not record the present one, but Pintura española, no. 38, not dated and not part of the series, is a different view of Havana by Laplante with similar dimensions and with no mention of Barañano.
The present lithograph was probably printed before Pintura española, no. 11, for it is by the same printer (Sergio Martin), but at a different address (Obrapia 121 instead of S. Ignacio 114) and still calling himself successor to (Luis) Marquier. Laplante also produced at least 24 lithographs of smaller format in a series entitled "Los Ingenios." Pintura española, p. 68, says that Marquier printed this smaller series in 1857, but dates all of the relevant lithographs (nos. 14-37) "1855-1857," so Martin may have succeeded Marquier in 1856. A rare and spectacular lithograph in fine condition.
Reference : Not in Pintura española y cubana y litografias y grabados cubanos del siglo XIX, 1983 (cf. lithographs nos. 10-13 and 38); nothing on Barañano or Laplante in Abbey, Travel in Aquatint and Lithography.