Speechless
































































Scanned (with the author's knowledge) from: 'Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels' 2008 by David A Beronä [blog].

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British Printed Images


Untitled, 1620s

Published by Roger Daniell
Print made by Thomas Fullwood

Description: A skeleton leaning on a spade by an open grave; top left, numbered medallions with explanations of the scenes inscribed below, '1 Mors tua 2 Mors Christi 3 Fraus mundi 4 Gloria Coeli 5 Et dolor inferni sunt meditanda tibi'; top right, a man with scales counting his money, while an angel points to the skeleton, with the accompanying inscription 'Memento hoc'; in the centre, verses on life and death, and the motto 'Omnia sic ibant sic ivimus ibitis, ibunt'; bottom left, flowers on a grave, with the inscription 'Hodie mihi cras tibi'; bottom right, a death's head, with the inscription 'Sic transit gloria mundi'. 1620/1629 Engraving

Inscription: In addition to inscriptions explaining the various scenes, lettered with six lines of verse in the lower margin, and production details: 'Tho: Fullwood sculp:' and 'Are to bee sould by Roger Daniell at the Angell in Lumbard Streete:'






Title: Animalium, ferarum et bestiarum, 1663

One of a series of plates entitled Animalium, ferarum et bestiarum, issued by Stent and Hollar, with various engravers.

Description: A griffin, surrounded by numerous plants, flowers, and insects, and a pineapple.






Title: Iam sibi Lusyadum cupiunt caput, astra, Draconem; Quod decreverunt Numina sacra Poli, 1645

Print made by John Droeshout

Description: A dragon on top of a globe within an oval cartouche; wreath and banderole with motto 'Dominabitur astris' above dragon, and inscriptions identifying stars and constellations on the globe; two heads, palm branches and bunches of fruit adorning the cartouche; illustration to page 708 of Antonio de Sousa de Macedo, 'Lusitania Liberata ab injusto Castellanorum dominio' (London, Richard Heron, 1645).





Title: A Book of Seuerall Ornaments inuented & ingraued by Sgribelin, 1682

Print made by Simon Gribelin

Description: Bacchus and Ariadne in an oval flanked by two terms; plate 4 from a set of ornament prints.

Comments by Antony Griffiths IN: 'The Print In Stuart Britain' (1998) - "This set of ornament prints is the earliest known work by Gribelin. It contains a titleplate and six other plates, which show small mythological scenes set into surrounds with putti and elaborate scrolls. The title is given both in French and English. In the context of French printmaking, they are of no particular interest, for the plates are standard exercises in the then fashionable style of Jean Berain.

But in Britain they were something new. Gribelin published one other set of eight ornament prints of different character and smaller size under the title 'A book of ornaments usefull to jewellers, watchmakers and all other artists' in 1697. Two series that he published under new titles in 1700 and 1704 (12 leaves priced at 3 shillings) are simply reworkings of the plates of these two sets. His designs were already old-fashioned then, but they remained in print long after his death. His son advertised them in 'The Evening Post' of 18 March 1736; from him they passed to Mr Pascall, picture frame-maker, at the Golden Head over against Hanover Street in Long Acre (The Daily Post, 21 February 1738), and they later turn up in the stock of John Bowles, who died in 1779."





Untitled, about 1680 - 1710

Print made by Michael Burghers

Description: Cupid, nude, riding a monstrous fish, holding a flower in right hand and a flag in left hand; to the sides and below, two horns out of which two winged boys blow on conches; in the background, a curtain.






Title: A Trew Draught of the Whale as he was seen at Blackwall-Dock, 1690

Published by John Drapentier

Description: Whale washed up on the banks of the Thames, with spectators at right, visitors on boats approaching the shore at left, and view of east London in the background.

Inscription: Lettered with title, text below image describing the whale and the incident, and publication line: 'Sold by Iohn Drapentier Ingravor in S.t Martins Legrand.'





Untitled, between 1596 and 1603

Print made by Thomas Cockson

Description: Charles Howard of Effingham, Earl of Nottingham, mounted on a prancing horse, in the background views of the Armada and the English fleet in Cadiz.

Inscription: Lettered with name and titles in top left corner, his arms in top right surrounded by a garter, and in the bottom margin four lines of Latin verse. With address of an unidentified publisher 'To be solde at the horseshew in pater noster row'.





Title: Elizabetha Angliae et Hiberniae Reginae &c, 1625

Print made by Thomas Cecill
Published by Peter Stent

Description: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth seated on horseback cross-saddle, in armour holding a sword, with a naked female labelled 'Treuth' holding out a lance to her; under her feet a dragon and in the background the Armada and the army at Tilbury.

Inscription: Lettered with title in sky along top 'Elizabetha Angliae et Hiberniae Reginae &c', and in lower corners 'sould by Peter Stent' and 'T.Cecill sculp'.





Title: The Roial Progenei of our most sacred King Iames.. 1603

Published by Hans Woutneel and Compton Holland
Print made by Benjamin Wright

Description: Genealogical tree of James I in five rows, with James and Anne at the top and Henry VII and Elizabeth at the bottom; in the corners the arms of England and Scotland, and of Lancaster and York.

Inscription: With title along the top 'The Roial Progenei of our most sacred King Iames [...]' and texts under each oval portrait; along the bottom "Benjamin Wright fecit / John Woutneel excu. 1603". In second state Woutneel's address altered to "Comp. Holland excu Lon. 1619".





Untitled, 1670

Print made by John Fillian
After Robert Vaughan

Description: Title-page to Peter Heylyn, 'Cosmographie in foure Bookes Contayning the Chorographie & Historie of the whole World and all the Principall Kingdomes, Provinces, Seas, and Isles, Thereof' (London, Philip Chetwind, 1670); title in the centre, beneath a globe and bunches of fruit; either side of the title panels depicting representative male and female figures from Europe, Africa, Asia and America, along with a horse, a lion, an elephant and a wolf; above, the sea, over which the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is flying, and either side of which are seated two women, one holding a trident, the other a flower; at the top, the sun and the tetragrammaton.

Inscription: Inscribed with full title, captions, scriptural references, and the imprint 'London Printed for Philip Chetwind in Aldersgate street over against New Street. 1670.'





Untitled, 1632

Print made by Martin Droeshout

Description: Frontispiece to Robert Henderson, 'The Arraignment of the Whole Creature Att the Barre of Religion, Reason, Experience'; title on sheet at top centre; on the left, a man (possibly the author) in a gown holds a phoenix in his hand, with a piglet eating from a bowl at his feet; from his mouth, an inscribed scroll, 'Non est mortale quod opto'; from his hand, an inscribed scroll encircling the earth, 'Transeat gloria mundi Vanity upon Vanity all is Vanity sayth the Preacher Eccles. 1.2'; above the globe, several inscribed scrolls; above those, a set of circles illustrating hierarchies in the universe, and above those a set of cirles and a triangle illustrating the Holy Trinity; top left, the sun.

Inscription: Lettered at bottom right 'Anno 1632. Marten. D. scul'





Untitled, 1653

Description: Engraved title-page to Ralph Austen, 'The Spiritual Use of An Orchard or Garden of Fruit Trees' (Oxford, Thomas Robinson); at the top, clasped hands with the inscriptions 'Profits' and 'Pleasures', below which the title; below the title, a formal garden, enclosed by a wall, and encircled by an inscription, 'My garden inclosed is my sister / my Spouse Thy Plants are / an Orchard of Pomegranats with / pleasant fruits Cant 4: 12. 13'; at the four corners of the image, various gardening implements.

Inscription: Lettered with title, inscriptions, and at bottom 'Oxford printed for Tho Robinson 1653' and 'I: Goddard sculp'.

Comments: This impression differs from that listed in Hind in respect of the title of the book. Most copies have the title 'A Treatise of Fruit Trees'; 'The Spiritual Use of An Orchard' appears to be a separate work that was usually printed after the 'Treatise'. This impression appears, therefore, to apply to this separate work, rather than to the 'Treatise'.





Title: Dorothea, Comitissa de Sunderland; The Countesses, 1660 to 1663

Print made (and published) by Pierre Lombart
After: Anthony van Dyck

Description: Portrait of Dorothy, Countess of Sunderland, standing three-quarter length, wearing silk dress with ample sleeves, with right hand resting on monumental stone vase, and left hand pointing up; in ornate frame.

Inscription: Lettered with title and production details: 'Antonius. Van Dyck Eques pinxit', 'P. Lombart sculpsit', and 'londini. auec Pri. du Roy et ex. parisis.'

Comments: Antony Griffiths, IN: 'The Print in Stuart Britain' (London, 1998): "Lombart's most famous work was the series of twelve portraits after van Dyck that he engraved around 1660, often known as the 'Countesses' from the Latin of their titles. Mariette in his entry on Lombart in his Abecedario stated that this set alone would suffice to place him 'au rang des premiers graveurs'. All twelve plates are the same size, and show three-quarter-length figures, ten women and two men, in 15mm wide borders that imitate frames of the period. Walpole described them as 'too well known to be particularised', but the complete list is not easily accessible. It is given here with references to Oliver Millar's catalogue of the paintings of Van Dyck, of 2004.

The women were Anne Carr, Countess of Bedford (IV.22); Lucy, Countess of Carlisle (IV.38); Margaret, Countess of Carlisle (later Manchester) (IV.39); Anna Sophia, Countess of Carnarvon; Elizabeth, Countess of Castlehaven (IV.42); Elizabeth, Countess of Devonshire (IV.90); Rachel, Countess of Middlesex (a title she gained on her re-marriage in 1655) (IV.A4); Penelope, Lady Herbert (IV.A28); Dorothy Sidney, Countess of Sunderland (IV.223); and Elizabeth, Countess of Morton (IV.A24). The two men were Henry Howard, Earl of Arundel (IV.12), and Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (IV.185). Four of the paintings that he copied were in Northumberland House in London, for which they had been commissioned from van Dyck by the 10th Earl of Northumberland (see Jeremy Wood in 'Van Dyck 350', Washington 1994, pp.281-324), of which most are today in Petworth. Presumably the paintings Lombart used for the rest of the set were also available to him in London.

The impression shown here is one of two proofs before letter in the British Museum, the other being of the Countess of Middlesex (1927,1008.374, ex-Masterman Sykes). The issuing of proofs before letter was virtually unheard of in British print publication at this date, although long established on the Continent.

The importing of this practice is a sign of the dignity and standing that Lombart wished to give his series. Another sign is the existence of impressions on a most unusual superfine, almost tissue, paper: examples are to be found in the Bute Granger (eg. IX 47 and 50). It is curious that Lombart never had any link with Lely, and never engraved any of his female portraits made in the tradition of van Dyck.' From cat. 120: 'All but one (the Countess of Devonshire) of the twelve plates of the series combine an English privilege ('Londini avec privileige du Roy') with a note of publication in France by the addition of the words 'et ex. Parisis'.

The positioning of the Paris publication line shows that it was obviously added as an afterthought. This gives the clue for dating the series shortly after the Restoration (the London privilege) and about the same time as Lombart returned to Paris (before 1663). No impressions have ever been recorded of a putative English edition before the addition of 'et ex. Parisis', and the prints must have been simultaneously published in England and France.

Plates of this quality must have taken some years to engrave, and Lombart probably began work in about 1660 or 1661. The series was extremely successful, and remained in print for many years. Hooke noted in his diary for 14 December 1674, 'Bought at Mr Faithorne's Lombards heades 9sh. Paid him 2sh', the rest following on 22 December. On 22 November 1708 Simon Gribelin advertised the set in the London Gazette as 'being one of the best performances in graving, and very proper to adorn rooms, closets etc.' at the price of one guinea. He had presumably used his French connections to purchase the plates from Lombart's heirs in Paris.

Later advertisements for the set appear in the 'London Evening Post' for 17 April 1736, and in the 'Daily Advertiser' for 12 December 1743. Lombart's series was highly influential, and set the pattern for later sets of female beauties. Lely's 'Windsor beauties' showed the Maids of Honour of Catherine of Braganza, and were painted for the Duchess of York before 1668. William III commissioned a set of 'Hampton Court beauties' from Kneller, and these were mezzotinted by the younger Faber (Chaloner Smith 28). Pieter van Gunst engraved a set of ten plates after whole-lengths by van Dyck from the Wharton collection (before they went to Houghton and thence to the Hermitage). These were proposed to subscribers by a syndicate of dealers, Cock, Comyns and McSwiny, who employed Houbraken to come from Holland in 1713 to make the drawings and van Gunst to engrave them in Amsterdam (Walpole III 971, and Vertue III 82).

The set of ten was advertised in the London Gazette on 13 December 1715. Finally, shortly before his death in 1765 James MacArdell had embarked on a set of full-lengths after van Dyck (one of them is Chaloner Smith 168).' See also Simon Turner in Van Dyck and Britain (London, Tate Gallery, 2009), cat. 105. The plates were frequently republished in London. The set was advertised in the 'London Gazette' for 22 November 1708, as being 'very proper to adorn rooms, closets etc.'. They re-appeared in Boydell's catalogue for 1767 at a price of 1 shilling each or 8 s. for the set."






Title: Mrs Anne Killigrew, 1685

Mezzoprint made by Isaac Beckett
After: Anne Killigrew
Published by John Smith

Description: Portrait of Anne Killigrew, head and shoulders in an oval, hair in curls, wearing an earring and low flowered robe. After a self-portrait.

Inscription: Lettered with title followed by 'Painted by her self', and 'I Beckett fec:'

Comments: Probably made in the year of her death as a memorial plate. Russell notes that this is similar, in reverse, to a plate engraved by Blooteling, CS, 1a.

History: Chaloner Smith identifies the following states: I: before inscription II: with inscription III: retouched and published by John Smith.





Untitled, 1656

Print made by Josias English
Published by M Bell
After Francis Cleyn

Description: A drinker, seated at a table with a flask and a lobster, holding up a glass of wine. After Francis Cleyn.

Inscription: With etched lettering at bottom of image: 'Fr: Clein: pin:', 'Anno 1656:' and 'Josias English fecit'. With six lines of verse in two columns in margin, and address: 'Sould by M: Bell on great Tower hill'.

Comments: by Antony Griffiths IN: 'The Print in Stuart Britain' (1998) - "This print has often been said to be after a self-portrait by Clein. But it may be doubted that Clein would have painted himself in this way, and the six lines of verse are highly uncomplimentary.

It fits into the tradition of Dutch paintings of boors smoking and drinking, in which artists like Adriaen Brouwer specialised. This is the unique surviving impression of this print, and carries the address 'sould by M.Bell on great Tower Hill'. This publisher is otherwise unknown. The lettering gives every appearance of having been added later, and so this is probably not the first edition."





Untitled, 1666

Print made by Richard Gaywood
After Francis Barlow

Description: Man seated by a table playing a cithern and consulting a score before him, with other musical instruments hanging on the wall; a plate from John Playford's Musicks Delight on the Cithern.

Inscription: With etched lettering 'R Gaywood fecit'.





Title: Signor Scaramouch & his company of comedians, about 1670 to 1690

Print made by Jacob Collins
Published by Nicholas Bonnart

Description: A comic actor, dressed in a cap and short coat, playing a small guitar; at his feet, various musical instruments; in the background, a river, bridge and a city scene. [W]

Inscription: Lettered with title and, at bottom left, 'I Collins fecit'.





Title: Guillot. Goriv, about 1670 to 1690

Print made by Jacob Collins
Published by Nicholas Bonnart

Description: A comic actor, wearing a large hat and cloak, and a belt with purse and dagger, standing before a building; in the distance, a landscape.





Title: The true portraiture of Albertus Durers the verie prime painter and engraver of Germany, about 1616 to 1620

Print made by Francis Delaram
Published by Compton Holland
After Lucas Kilian

Description: Portrait of Dürer, head and shoulders, after Lucas Kilian; the title-page to A Booke of the Art of Drawing. c.1616/20

Inscription: Lettered with title along the top 'The true portraiture of Albertus Durers the verie prime painter and engraver of Germany', and below the title of the book 'A Booke of the Art of Drawing according to the order of Albert Durer, Jean Cozyn and other excellent picture-makers, describing the true proportions of men, women & children', with the production details 'Iohan Rotenhamer pinxit. Franciscus Delaram sculpsit' and 'Compton Holland excudit'

Comments: See Giulia Bartrum, 'Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy'. This is the only surviving evidence for the earliest English drawing book, which is otherwise only known in later editions by Jenner in 1652 and 1660, and by even later publishers. The portrait derives from the self-portrait in the 'Feast of the Rose Garlands'; the reference to Rottenhamer shows that the plate was copied from Kilian's print, which makes explicit reference to his copy of Dürer's original.





Untitled, about 1673

Print made by Francis Barlow
Published by George Farthing and Edward Powell

Description: Satire against the Dutch; a broken egg of Dutch rebellion reveals Dutchmen plotting round a table, from which they climb to be greeted by devils.

Inscription: With three verses of four lines in lower margin beginning 'Doe but obserue this Cacodæmon's bum ...', and with numerous other captions with text within the design (for which see Stephens); with publication line 'Sold by Edward Powell at the Swan in Little Brittain and Geo: Farthing att Lincoln's Inn Back gate.'





Title: While maskinge in their folleis all doe passe, though all say nay yet all doe ride the asse, 1607

Attributed to Renold Elstrack
Published by John Garrett

Description: Satire on the folly of the world: a group of men attempt to climb on an ass, pulling each other off, watched by a beggar and judge.

Inscription: Lettered with title along the top: 'While maskinge in their folleis all doe passe, though all say nay yet all doe ride the asse'. Four stanzas of verse are given below and more verses beside each character; with a later address 'Printed coloured and sold by John Garrett at the south entrance of the Royall Exchange in Cornhill going up the stayres'.

History: This print was entered in the Stationers' Register on 7 March 1607 by the printer Henry Robertes under the description 'A picture of the Ridinge of the Asse'. Later impressions were published by John Garrett in the late seventeenth century.

Comments: from Antony Griffiths IN: 'The Print in Stuart Britain' (1998) - Although this impression bears the address of the late seventeenth-century publisher John Garrett, Hind recognised that the plate was much earlier, and dated it on the grounds of costume c.1600/10. This can now be confirmed by the discovery of its entry in the Stationers' Register on 7 March 1607 by the printer Henry Robertes under the description 'A picture of the Ridinge of the Asse'.

The text on and under the design, which is completely transcribed by Hind, makes it clear that the print is a general satire on human folly, and does not give it any specific contemporary application. The couplets by each figure are spoken by them, while the ass is left to speak in the four verses below. Dame Punke, Don Pandar, Don Gull the Gallant, Clown and Fool all try to mount the ass, while the beggar leading the ass invites the Judge to mount it, an offer which the Judge wisely declines. The ass complains at its burden, 'The world beneath such weight doth almost crack', and later 'But when you All will ride and each be first, Beware the Asses back you doe not burst'.

John Garrett (active 1674-d.1718/20) was brother-in-law to John Overton, and bought Jenner's business at the Royal Exchange after Jenner's death in 1673. This print is listed in Jenner's catalogue for 1662 as 'The Ridinge of the Asse'. Since Jenner only set up in business c.1618, he cannot have been the first publisher. This could have been Henry Roberts, but he is unknown otherwise as a print publisher. STC records him as a publisher between the 1570s and 1616, but only lists four titles, mostly broadsides. Roberts could simply have been entering the print on behalf of someone else. This is the best designed and best engraved of the satires made in the reign of James. Although Hind catalogued it as anonymous, it is likely to be by Renold Elstrack, who had by far the greatest flair for design of the early engravers.

By the time that Garrett reprinted this impression more than half a century later, the plate had been considerably reworked. That only two impressions survive (the second being in the Houghton Library, Harvard) of a print that remained in production for so long is entirely typical of early British printmaking.





Title: The Mapp of Lubberland or the Ile of Lasye, about 1670

Anonymous; possibly after a painting by Pieter Bruegel

Description: The Land of Cockaigne; six figure lie on the grass, their heads towards tree loaded with food; landscape with satiated man eating his way through mountain of pudding at r, man asleep at the door of his house at l; verses below.





Title: The Prodigal Sifted, 1677

Description: Parents sieving their son surrounded by scenes of gambling, duelling, drinking, smoking, brothel, sickness and jail, in the margins.

Published by Robert Dalton and William Dicey

Inscription: Lettered with title, text within image, text above image and publication line: 'Sold by Rob. Walton at ye Globe & Compasses at ye west end of S.t Paules. Now Sold by W. Dicey in Bow-Church-Yard, Cheapside, London.'





Title: The discription of the Islandes and Castle of Mozambique.. 1598

Print made by William Rogers
After Johannes van Doetecum

Description: Map depicting Mozambique, with ships, a coat of arms, a sphere, and a compass; illustration to Jan Huygen van Linschoten, 'His Discours of Voyages into ye Easte and Weste Indies' (London, John Wolfe), between pp. 8 and 9.

Inscription: Lettered with title 'The discription of the Islandes and Castle of Mozambique [...]', after which: 'lyeinge vppon the borders of Melinde, rich of Eban wood, fine Goulde, and Ambergrize, fro[m] whence many Slaues are caried into India'. Several inscriptions identifying topographical features, and at top left: '8 & 9.' Lettered at bottom left: 'Printed at London by Iohn Wolfe / Grauen by William Rogers'.





Title: The Doctor Degraded; or the Reward of Deceit, 1685

Published by George Groom

Description: Broadside on the punishment of Titus Oates; a depiction of Oates in the pillory, with text on either side and in two columns below.

Inscription: Lettered with title at top, and at foot of sheet, in letterpress: 'LONDON, Printed by George Groom, at the Sign of the Blue-Ball in Thames-street, over against Baynard's-Castle. 1685.' [see: Victorian Web / New Advent]



All of the above images were spliced together from screencaps. The majority (if not all) of the text on the prints ought to be legible if you click through on any image to the original version; however, the zoomify interface at the source site provides the highest resolution.

All the text above, despite some editing and rearrangement, is quoted from the source site. Where it says 'untitled', it just refers to the print itself, irrespective of whether the print is from a titled book or suite of engravings.

British Printed Images to 1700 is a significant database and a work in progress from a collaboration between the Victoria and Albert Museum, University College London and the British Museum. The site will present some challenges depending on your browser; some sections are not yet populated/indexed and I haven't yet done any searching. [previously: see The British Museum Print Database]

The above selection of images (probably a fair overview of the genres and subject matters available) were found from browsing through the 'producers' in the database. They were chosen from the first half of the alphabet. (I would guess that I saw perhaps 750 images at the very most so far; I presume, therefore, they have only uploaded 15% or thereabouts of the expected 10,000 prints. That said, I haven't had an intensive look around the site, which includes a wealth of interesting background material/essays and the like).

Using firefox, I cntrl-clicked to open 'larger images' in a new tab to see the background notes (otherwise it doesn't open). If you look at 'anonymous' in that producers section, for instance, you can quickly see a whole load of image thumbnails: just another way of getting a quick overview.

I knew of this site from the Print of the Month series: some images have been posted to BibliOdyssey in the past - (multi) - but I'm thankful to tellurian for posting about the parent site on Metafilter a day or two ago.

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Indian Designs

































































The images above come from small clipart book I've got called 'Native Designs from India' © Maarten Hesselt van Dinter, 2007. [More in the set] It appears to be one of a series of indigenous art symbol books by van Dinter for HvD Publishing.

From the introduction:

"The beautiful designs in this book are mostly geometric depictions of animals, flowers, objects and deities and are embroidered in cloths, painted on walls and ceramics, drawn on floors as talismans and even used as henna and tattoo designs. They reflect the vitality of the Indian people, their culture and their beliefs."

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The Wind in the Willows

"THE Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms.

Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said `Bother!'and `O blow!' and also `Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.

Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gravelled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air. So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, `Up we go! Up we go!' till at last, pop! his snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow..."

'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame was first published in 1908 but the masterful, scratchy drawings by EH Shepard, - illustrator of 'Winnie the Pooh' - that are most closely associated with the text, were not produced until 1931.

Grahame didn't live long enough to see the book released with Shepard's illustrations but their meeting would be reported by Shepard in a 1950s edition of the classic, as follows:

"Not sure about his new illustrator of his book, he listened patiently while I told him what I hoped to do.

Then he said 'I love these little people, be kind to them'.

Just that; but sitting forward in his chair, resting upon the arms, his fine handsome head turned aside, looking like some ancient Viking, warming, he told me of the river nearby, of the meadows where mole broke ground that spring morning, of the banks where Rat had his house, of the pool where Otter hid, and of Wild Wood way up on the hill above the river.

...He would like, he said, to go with me to show me the river bank that he knew so well, '...but now I cannot walk so far and you must find your way alone'."

From my own perspective, the beautifully written adventures of Mr Badger, Mole, Ratty and the inimitable and credulous Toad and their friends, although composed principally as a tale for youth, is equally suitable as a pleasant diversion or panacea for the blues in adulthood. The pharmaceutical industry might well face some competition in the trade of antidepressants if a few more copies of this book were prescribed for vulnerable people during stressful episodes in their lives. It's not just escapism, seriously. It would definitely be included by me in a group of five books for a desert island.

In immortalising the characters of 'The Wind in the Willows' Shepard provided more than seventy illustrations, many of which are teeny tiny vignettes. The sampling seen above was scanned from a 1970s Methuen edition and I think I removed most of the bacon and sangria stains (don't ask). There are quite a few more in the set.

• W: 'The Wind in the Willows'; Kenneth Grahame; EH Shepard.
• Do check out the Winnie the Pooh post, which includes a fair number of original sketches by Shepard.
• The University of Oxford site on 'The Wind in the Willows'.
• Salon's article [print] during the centenary year of publication is a little, um, effusive, perhaps, but still a worthwhile read.
• 'The Wind in the Willows' at Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.
• In general, previously.
• UPDATE: Coincidentally, in the New York Times today: 'A Second Wind for a Toad and His Pal' [single page]. Thanks Chris!
  

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Codex Fejervary Mayer

The Codex Fejérváry-Mayer depicts specific aspects of the tonalpohualli the 260-day Mesoamerican augural cycle. The painted manuscript divides the world into five parts. T-shaped trees delineate compass points: east at the top, west on the bottom, north on the left, and south on the right. The four directions are distributed around a sacred center, shown here as Xiuhtecuhlti, the god of fire.

"(a)The center; (b)the four world trees; (c)the body of Tezcatlipoca, the creator God (his dismembered parts - spine, head, foot, and hand - are seen at the interstices of the four quadrants); and (d)circular cartouches of year signs set on the framing Maltese Cross."

[Diagram and notes © 'The History of Cartography, Volume 2, Book 3: Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies', 1998, edited by G Woodward and GM Lewis - googlebooks]





































The top right corner of this image "shows how Tezcatlipoca tempted Cipactli the Earth Monster to the surface of the great waters by using his foot as bait. In swallowing his foot (s)he lost her lower jaw. Hideously crippled (s)he was unable to sink and thus the earth was created from her body." [source]



















Codex Fejérváry-Mayer is a 15th or early 16th century Aztec (or Mixtec) manuscript on deer skin from Veracruz in central Mexico. Named for a Hungarian collector and British patron, this pre-Columbian accordion-style document outlines the cosmological and calendrical orientations of the Mayan people. As a typical calendar codex tonalamatl dealing with the sacred Aztec calendar -- the tonalpohualli -- it is grouped in the Codex Borgia group.

• Except where stated, all the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer images above come from FAMSI (Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerian Studies) [another version]. There are forty four page images in total. The sprawling FAMSI site is a worthwhile timesink)
• Brief overview of Aztec codices.
  
• Codex Fejérváry-Mayer is owned by the Museum of Liverpool.
• Adeva in Austria sell a facsimile edition of the codex.
• See also: previous posts on Mesoamerica. [via]
  

read more at BibliOdyssey

Satirical Maps





Etching by James Gillray; published in London by Hannah Humphrey in 1791

Image source: British Museum

"A comic map of England formed by an old woman seated in profile to the left on the back of a dolphin-like monster, whose open mouth (right) represents the 'Thames', the two points of its tail being 'Lands End' and 'Lizard Point'. She holds a trident in her left hand. Her right hand (on which is a dove) and right foot form the north of Wales and the north of the the Bristol Channel. The peak of her cap is 'Berwick'. Many other names are inscribed round the coast. The sea forms a background."

Wright & Evans, in their 1851 book, 'Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray', describe 'Brittania' thus:
"A rather ludicrous burlesque on the map of Great Britain, the work of some amateur artist, and etched by Gillray."






Designed by Robert Dighton; published in London by Bowles & Carver in 1793

Image source: British Museum






Designed by Robert Dighton; published in London by Bowles & Carver in 1793

Image source: Wikimedia






Designed by Robert Dighton; published in London by Bowles & Carver in 1793

Image source: British Museum

Robert Dighton was well known as a portrait artist and is regarded as one of the most talented social caricaturists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He also achieved notoriety as a thief of valuable prints from the British Museum which he sold on the open art market to supplement his income from painting and etching. Ironically, many of Dighton's original drawings and print illustrations can be now be found in - you guessed it! / (obvious) - the British Museum Prints Room.






Etching by James Gillray; published in London by Hannah Humphrey in 1793

Image source: British Museum

"A comic map, inscribed 'A new Map of England & France', actually showing England and Wales, the SW. corner of Scotland, the north of France, just including 'Paris', and the Belgian coast as far as Ostend. England is represented by the body of George III (John Bull), his head in profile to the right, wearing a fool's cap composed of 'Northumberland'. His left leg is drawn up, Norfolk forms the knee, the mouth of the 'River Thames' the ankle, Kent the foot. His outstretched right leg terminates as Cornwall.

From the coast, at the junction of 'Hampshire' and 'Sussex', issues a blast of excrement inscribed 'British Declaration', which smites a swarm of 'Bum-Boats' extending from Ushant to the mouth of the Seine. The map is divided (inaccurately, and with omissions, but with a rough correctness) into counties, Wales representing the flying coat-tails of the King, who strides across the ocean with great vigour."

Published in London by Laurie & Whittle in 1806

Image source: British Museum

"Great Britain is an adaptation of [the Gillray print above] inscribed 'Johnny Bull on a Whale'; a thistle growing out of his head represents 'Scotland'; an Irish harp is 'Ireland'. The contour of Europe is roughly correct; on most of the countries are little figures or scenes. On 'France' a landscape (torn). On 'Spain' a whole length portrait of (?) Charles IV, hanging askew. On 'Switzerland' a funeral urn flanked by yews. On 'Portugal', as on 'Italy', a landscape. On 'Holland' a Dutch toper. On (west) 'Germany' crowned heads looking out through prison bars. On 'Prussia' is an infantry soldier. On 'Sweden' a reindeer sledge; 'Norway' and 'Denmark' are blank. On 'Russia' are polar bears, &c. In 'Turkey' a Turk advances towards Britannia, who is seated, with cap of Liberty, Lion, and olive-branch. Below [not seen]:

'Oft we see in the shops, a print set up for sale,
England colour'd, an old fellow striding a whale:
Yes! Old England's a picture, the sea forms its frame,
And Hibernia and Scotia they class with the same. "

Published in Hamburg by B.S. Berendsohn in 1854

Image source: University of Amsterdam

"A bibliographically unknown caricature map of Europe showing the political situation of the Crimean War. The Russian Bear, wearing the Imperial crown labeled “Despotism” and branding a cat-o-nine-tails whip strides eastward but looks westward over its shoulder toward an enslaved, chained Polish maiden on her knees. The region labeled “Engentliches Russland” (The Real Russia) is marked Verrath (Teason), Bigottery (Bigotry), etc. The toes of the Russian bear’s right foot take the form of the Crimean peninsula where the French and English fleets gather to “clip the bear’s claws”. The Treaty of Paris, March 1856 concluded the Crimean War and forbade Russia to maintain a fleet in the Black Sea." [source]

Published in Haarlem by J.J. van Brederode in 1870

Image source: University of Amsterdam






Published in Zurich by Caesar Schmidt in 1875

Image source: University of Amsterdam






Designed and drawn by A. Belloquet; published in Brussels by Vincent in 1882

Image source: University of Amsterdam






After the design of Fred W Rose; published in London by GW Bacon in 1899

Image source: University of Amsterdam

(I've posted a version of this map before but this is a much better and larger image)

Re: Fred W Rose (but not specifically about the above map) -

"Caricaturist Fred W Rose created [..] this cartoon map in 1877, when British hostility to Russian territorial ambitions in the Balkans, at the expense of the tottering Ottoman Empire, were at its height. [..] British determination to resist what were held to be Russia's overweening territorial ambitions was not confined solely to India.

The Balkan crisis of 1877, in which the British government sided with the Ottoman Turks against the Russian tsar, led to the publication of a curious Serio-Comic War Map by the noted Victorian graphic artist and caricarturist Fred W Rose. It illustrated the threat posed to British interests by the Russian octopus in its quest for world domination. Rose continued to produce eyecatching cartographical curiosities for the rest of the century, including what was probably his masterpiece, 'Angling in Troubled Waters: A Serio-Comic Map of Europe' in 1899."

After a design by Fred W Rose; published in London by GW Bacon in 1900

Image source Centre Excursionista de Catalunya (Memòria Digital de Catalunya) [previously]

"Great Britain - John Bull has been attacked by two wild cats. He is however able to rely on the stores of ammunition behind him, as well as his own pluck and great resources. The letter at his feet from his friend Uncle Sam, would be more encouraging were it not for the post-script. The Nationalist section in Ireland has taken this opportunity to vent his abuse upon him, but is restrained by the loyalty of the people.

France too, is scolding and threatening to scratch with one hand, while with the other she is beckoning on Germany to help her. Although the Dreyfus affair is thrust into the back-ground she is much occupied with her new doll's house. She has somehow managed to break all the toys on her girdle and her heart is sore, for she attributes these disasters to John Bull.

Holland and Belgium are also calling him unpleasant names.

Spain, weary with her recent struggles, remembers that John was in no way inclined to help her, and looks up hoping to see him attacked by some of her neighbours.

Portugal is pleased to think he holds the Key of the situation.

Norway and Sweden though still struggling to get free from their mutual leash, turn their attention to John's difficulties, while Denmark is kindly sending him a present of provisions.

Austria and Hungary will be content with dreadful threats

Switzerland's satisfaction that her Red Cross has done good service, is marred by the news of John's victories, which she is reading.

Italy alone holds out the hand of encouragement to his old friend.

In Corsica the shade of her great departed son is wondering why people don't act, as he would have done, instead of growling and cursing.

Turkey, resting comfortably on his late foe Greece, is smiling at the thought that these troubles do not harm him and perhaps he is not sorry that John will not come to much harm.

Russia, in spite of the Tzar's noble effort to impress her with his own peaceful image, is but an octopus still. Far and wide her tentacles are reaching. Poland and Finland aleady know the painful process of absorption. China feels the power of her suckers, and two of her tentacles aer invidiously creeping towards Persia and Afghanistan, while another is feeling for any point of vantage where Turkey may be once more attacked."

"Fascinating political caricature map by Frederick Rose of the countries of Europe, known as the Octopus Map from the brooding presence of the Russian Empire depicted as a massive octopus, whose tentacles stretch out towards Europe. China is shown in the grasp of Russia, as is Persia and Poland. France and Spain are attractive women, while Germany, Italy and England are Military commanders. his map, by Rose, followed the style created by a Frenchman, Joseph Goggin, showing Russia as an octopus."

[All the University of Amsterdam images were spliced together from 20+ screencaps. They are linked through to large versions, but note that very large images were uploaded to Flickr in which all the map text should to be legible. However, the Flash zoom module at the source site provides the highest resolution views.]


I think I'll refrain from providing additional commentary on this occasion, save for noting that the above array of maps are a sampling and not intended as a comprehensive visual timeline arrangement. Many important examples are missing (some are scattered through the archives here) and this selection only covers one century of a tradition that probably dates back to the early 14th century work of Opicinus de Canistris.

I recommend reviewing the Dogs of War post from last year which has some general background notes/links and Roderick Barron's illustrated article [pdf], 'Bringing the map to life: European satirical maps, 1845-1945' is worth reading.

See also:

• Political Cartoon Maps at Cartographic Associates.
• "humorous map" at the Visual Arts Data Service.

read more at BibliOdyssey

Eye Spy



The artist is said by the Rijksmuseum to be Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne but the engraver may have been Jacob Matham - previously - according to the intermediary source, Artpx. (some background stains have been removed) [Thanks Ian!]

"Above the couple a banderole announces 'how well we suit each other', in other words, 'each to his own'. The owls are intended to show that people should consort with their own sort: poor with poor, rich with rich, owl with owl."

Known as 'Das Tierbuch des Petrus Candidus' (animal book), this 1460 Vatican Library Manuscript by the Italian humanist, Pier Candido Decembrio, continues the tradition of early natural history books in the manner of Pliny the Elder, the Physiologus and Thomas of Cantimpré which served as Candido's sources.

Commissioned by Ludovico Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, 'Das Tierbuch' describes all known real and mythical animals, but the wonderful illustrations were a 16th century addition to the manuscript. One way we know this is because the rhinoceros drawing is an exact copy of Albrecht Dürer's famous 1515 stylised depiction of the animal.

The colourful images above (the top one has been background cleaned and only the third one can be enlarged) come from Austria's University of Salzburg Book of the Month series where other interesting critters can be found. Their illustrations were scanned from a 1984 reprint of 'Das Tierbuch des Petrus Candidus'.






'Das Buch von Kaiser Sigmund' by Eberhard Windeck (The Life and Times of Emperor Sigismund) is expected to fetch between £1 million to £1.5 million when it comes up for auction at Sotheby's in London on July 7. [Lot 26 has a number of images and copious background notes] I'm obliged to the enterprising Wikimedia user, Pölkkyposkisolisti, who managed to extract the large version of the image and upload it in double-quick time. If there was a payroll, I would consider putting them on it.

"This is one of the great vernacular chronicles of the fifteenth century, and a major (and often unique) source for the life of Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368-1437) [..]
Eberhard Windeck (c. 1380- c.1440) was a member of a successful merchant family of Mainz. He first met Sigismund in Prague in 1395. He travelled extensively throughout Europe, both for business and on diplomatic missions, living at various times in Paris, Vienna, Buda, Nuremberg, Venice, and other cities.

His contacts and sources of information are formidable. He entered the service of Sigismund in 1414, and accompanied him to the Council of Constance and elsewhere. The Buch von Kaiser Sigmund is a celebration of the emperor's close involvement in very many major events, including the resolution of the papal schism, the Hussite Wars (there is a fine illustrated account here of the burning of Jan Hus in 1415), and the story of Joan of Arc, including what are reputed to be the earliest known pictures of Joan of Arc, who was martyred in 1431."

"[F]olio 88r, the catching of a vast whale at Dunkirk which yielded 120 tonnes of blubber, with the whale (depicted as an enormous green-backed fish) is hacked at by a man, note as Windeck is present in the picture this may well record that he was an eye-witness to this event."

The book sold recently at Sotheby's for $195K [Philobiblos lists this and other results from the sale] {the parrot illustrations above have been cropped slightly}

"After he had made himself Emperor, it was part of Napoleon's deliberate policy to initiate a series of magnificent publications that would vie with those undertaken on the orders of Louis XIV. These were sent as presents to crowned heads, men of science, and learned bodies, in evidence of the splendours of the Empire ... The works of Levaillant owe their sumptuous character to ... this impetus. His 'Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets' is, unwittingly, a part of the glories of Napoleonic France"

"A charming view of a falconer or falcon seller playing a wind instrument and carrying 7 birds on a hoop suspended from his neck. The figure's turban suggests an Indian or Mughal origin for the wearer.

In France, falconry achieved its greatest development in complexity, scale and magnificence in the seventeenth century under Louis XIII. The king owned 300 birds, subdivided into six specialized équipages, for hunting the heron, the kite and the crow, the flight at the river, the flight at the partridge, and so on. Numerous paintings, tapestries and works of literature survive from this period. In the Indian sub-continent, falconry appears to have been known from at least 600 years BC. Falconry became especially popular with the nobility and the Mughals were keen falconers."

These illustration plates of edible mushrooms by Charles Horton Peck almost certainly come from an 'Annual Report of the State Botanist' (of New York) from the late 19th century. I don't think it's this specific report, but it's from around that time. Thanks to Patrick from The Dead Gekko Society who won the illustrations and scanned them.






This allegorical illustration of biblical scenes tied to the Noah's Ark episode and including a somewhat stylised globe of the known world appears in Romeyn de Hooghe's landmark 1682 publication of the Dutch Lutheran Bible. The image was found among the database of book illustrations at the University of Amsterdam and is spliced together from screencaps. You can get a feel for the spectacular quality of the engraving designs at this ebay site.

"This Bible, the first to include a map, has over 160 hand-colored illustrations by Romeyn de Hooghe, perhaps the most significant Dutch book illustrator of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries."*

****On the subject of Dutch engraving, a massive digitisation project of book illustrations and prints is currently underway in Holland which I am reliably informed ought to bear some web-accessible fruit by the end of this year. The collaborative DutchPrintsOnline site aims to have in the order of 2 million(!) web pages online by late 2010.****






It comes from a 1790 book called 'Itinéraire de la Vallée de Chamonix, d'une Partie du Bas-Vallais et des Montagnes Avoisinantes' by Jacob-Pierre Van Berchem (Berthout). It brings to mind the panorama handbills post from November. The image source is a mostly unexplored (as yet, by me) database from University of Lausanne in Switzerland called Viatimages, featuring a large number of book illustrations relating to the Alps. [via bibliparis4]














Heinrich von Mayr's suite of what appear to be hand-coloured lithographs from 1839-1840 displays about sixty scenic views from Egypt (mostly), Syria and Palestine. I thought the borders were a nice design touch. [source]











Helene Bournonville had a connection to the Danish arts community through her husband's ballet career. She kept an album (essentially a Friends Book) in which some of the most well known and gifted painters and writers of Copenhagen and beyond (including Hans Christian Andersen) contributed poems, sketches and paintings over a fifty year period (~1840 to 1890).

The Danish government intervened in 2005 to prevent the sale of the album to a foreign investor and funds were raised to keep the album in Denmark. The scans of the varied contents are hosted by the Royal Library of Denmark [click 'Se stambogen her' for the very tolerable flash viewing window and note the thumbnail icon bottom left]






Speaking of Hans Christian Andersen, this papercut of his (spliced together from screencaps) was sold at a Christie's auction in the last day or so for ~$24,000

"Original papercut design, intricately cut and depicting several popular motifs including ballet dancers, windmill men with heart-shaped windows, pierrots, Ole Lukoie or sandmen, flower garlands, palm trees, storks, and gnomes [..and dated] 1870."

Recommended related posts from:

• Airform Archives: one, two
• A Journey Round My Skull: one, two

The University of Heidelberg has six months worth of issues from 1872 of the magazine or periodical (in French), 'La Scie'. [choose an issue and then 'Voschau' for thumbnails]
There are lots of satirical cartoons. I haven't really looked into the background at all, although it's fairly obvious that the publication is devoted to or derived from the 1870/1871 Siege of Paris, one way or another.








These two images of soldiers practising rifle techniques come from a 1664 drill book, in both French and German, by Jacob de Gheyn, called 'Die Drillkunst..', hosted by the University of Dresden [click on the book icon for thumbnail images]









Frontispiece and a fold-out plate from 'New-erfundenes Grosses Königs-Spiel' (~Great King's Game) by Christoph Weickhmann from 1664, online at Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel. Apparently this is Weickhmann's attempt to modify the traditional chess game with checkers-like characteristics [info].





An undated stone rubbing of ancient Chinese folklore figures found (somehow) in the Soda collection among the Nichibunken Databases at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies.






Click through on this imaginative architectural fantasy etching to see a small set of illustrations uploaded by Flickr user, Endless Forms Most Beautiful that were scanned from 'Brodsky & Utkin: The Complete Works', 1990.

"Alexander Brodsky and Ilya Utkin are the best known of a loosely organized group of Soviet artists known as "Paper Architects", who designed much but built little in the early days of Glasnost, in the late 1980s. [..] Underlying the wit and visual inventiveness is an unmistakable moral: that the dehumanizing architecture of the sort seen in Russian cities in the 1980s and 1990s, and elsewhere around the globe, takes a sinister toll."

This 2006 MetropolisMag article on Brodsky is worth reading, but in my view there aren't any other websites deserving of particular mention. If you are interested, there is quite a bit of visual and written material around, scattered across many sites, that will be turned up from diligent searching. [via].





The 1930 first edition cover of Evelyn Waugh's second novel, 'Vile Bodies' [Chapman & Hall] (spliced together from screencaps). The book was recently sold at Christie's for £2,250.







This is the cover of the most recent edition [CONTENTS], a richly illustrated 64 page catalogue that covers fine and private press printing as well as bookbinding, typography, collecting, publishing and related areas. It's free to members of the association: membership is $48 annually [JOIN]. A selection of past and current articles is available here.






Plug Two: 'Dutch Art Nouveau and Book Design 1892–1903' by Ernst Braches was originally published in 1973. The first translation into English of this authoritative and copiously illustrated work was published in 2009 and is available from De Buitenkant publisher's site.






Plug Three: 'The Alchymical Zoodiac' is a privately published illustrated book by Ilene Winn-Lederer. Subtitled: 'A Celestial Bestiary of Sixteen Curious Illustrations Regarding the Signs & Symbols of Astronomy, Astrology & Alchymy', the book (and preview) is available from the artist/author's website.



Other things...

• Plug Four: Angela from [parenthetically] has co-authored a book: 'The Handy Book of Artistic Printing: Collection of Letterpress Examples with Specimens of Type, Ornament, Corner Fills, Borders, Twisters, Wrinklers, and other Freaks of Fancy'; which has its own related blog. That will lead to the marvellous Sheaff Ephemera Collection {recently reviewed by Design Observer}.
• Jews, Commerce, & Culture, a modest online exhibition site from the University of Pennsylvania Library.
• New York Times review of 'Pages of Gold' - Vivid and Weighty - Orphaned Medieval Leaves' at the Morgan Library and Museum [slideshow]
• Charley from Lines and Colors has created an iPhone app. DinoMixer: kids of all ages can mix and match dinosaur parts.
• Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages exhibition blog at the Met. Museum [overview from Medieval News]
• Directory of Web Resources for the Rare Materials Cataloger at New Mexico State University.
• Colección Blaisten - Mexican art from colonial to contemporary times.
• Dessins Français - drawings by (mostly) lesser known French artists from the 17th to early 20th centuries.
• The Community Archive is a hub for New Zealand’s archival organisations to manage and showcase their collections.
• Summer Reading Lists from Rebecca Blood.
  
• Feeds / BibliOdyssey / bookmarks / links / twitter / Advertise
• nb. the "Plugs" above are gratis.
  

read more at BibliOdyssey

Maastricht Ceramic Design



























































































Petrus Regout (a name associated with worker exploitation even today) started a modern earthenware production factory in Maastricht, the capital of the far South-Eastern Dutch province of Limburg, in 1836.

Entrepreneurs, sensing an opportunity on the back of Regout's success, established competing pottery factories in the area (including Société Céramique), but none was as successful as Regout's firm. By the end of the century, Regout's eponymous business had been renamed Sphinx and was an important regional employer. The pottery industry as a whole reached its zenith in Maastricht just prior to World War I, supplying 70% of the city's industrial employment and producing ceramic plates, cups, jugs and associated earthenware and porcelain products for the world market.

Sphinx and Société Céramique merged in 1958 but the resulting company ceased operations in 1969. The images above come from in-house pottery decoration books used by each of the original companies both as design models for the artisans and also as reference guides for clients. This enormous collection consists of 17,500 (!) designs covering the gamut from logos and monograms, to geometric and abstract motifs, myriad flower and animal designs, borrowed Chinese symbols, architectural sketches and a large range of type faces (among many, many other themes).

The majority of the material available in the Maastricht Earthenware Decorations Collection was produced after 1899 but there are plenty of examples from the second half of the nineteenth century.

Two things to note: I only *just now* discovered that there is an English version of this Memory of The Netherlands collection (that's it linked up above); and also, I had a lot of trouble trying to browse this site. More often than not I had to refresh or shift-refresh pages multiple times to get the images to load or the pop-up zooming window to display the download button. Really frustrating stuff. Perhaps it was a temporary weekend glitch or there is a speed bump in the tubes between Holland and Oz; anyway, just be aware. I have saved another twenty or more images in this flickr set. There was very little accompanying information about each image that I could find and my enthusiasm and patience for collecting it was fairly drained in any event.

read more at BibliOdyssey

The Treasury of Ornament 3



Wainscot and floor plates from houses/buildings in Genoa and Bologna. The ornaments most resemble Byzantine and Oriental models and the studio of Della Robbia [see one; two] attained special celebrity as the leading plate-mosaic manufacturer.






House front and court decoration from Genoa, Milan and Pienza.

"It was at the commencement of the 15th century, that the Renaissance style began to make its appearance in Italy, and the period till about 1500 may be called the period of Early Renaissance, in contradistinction of High Renaissance which lasted till the middle of the 16th century.

Renaissance is a new adaptation, not a servile imitation, but a free treatment of antique forms; the plainest evidence of this is given by the ornament, of which this style makes a richer and ampler use than any other. This applies more particularly to the motives we meet with; and here we observe above all the vegetable ornament, which in Early Renaissance generally covers the ground only moderately.

We find almost everywhere delicate, beautifully curved branches in a symmetrical or at least regular arrangement, in which the antique acanthus-leaf acts as the principal part, although, not without the most various transformations. Also vine, laurel, ivy etc. are frequently employed, partly copying nature directly, partly idealised. But this foliage with its branches and fruit is still enlivened by a rich variation of animals, fantastical beings, human figures as well as symbolical subjects, arms, masks, emblems, vases, candelabras etc.

Most cultivated is the combination of human figures and animals with vegetable elements. Finally a not less important part of the decoration are coats or arms and escutcheons, the latter usually a so-called horse-front-shields [the two parallel strips upper middle in the image above] in the period of the Early Renaissance, later on as cartouches."

Examples from choir stalls in Verona, Organo, Bologna and Pavia. In general, wood carving was highly flourished, particularly the style of woodwork known as intarsia*, where inlaid wood panels were used for stalls, shrines and vestries in churches.






Borders, medallions and arch-panels from ceilings in the Vatican, Certosa, Lodi and Rome. Mixed animal and vegetable motive ornamentation, often framed with original fresco border patterns that are themselves often inspired by stucco decoration, except imitated with a brush. Rosette patterns that pre-date the Renaissance become an assimilated form of the developing artistic expression.






Lace patterns from Venice and Genoa, the two main centres where the perfection of this art-form virtually makes it a creation of the Renaissance. Of the astonishingly intricate and beautiful lace products, Venetian point-in-relief is the most esteemed. The decoration is dominated by vegetable motives, comparable to ornamentation seen in other Renaissance arts.






Silk, relief and plain embroidered {(+/-) appliqué} examples from liturgical vestments and carpet border patterns from Florence, Verona, Stuttgart and Munich. Embroidery frequently includes medallion designs in addition to the normal Renaissance ornamental repertoire ; carpet weaving often follows Byzantine and Oriental patterns.






Sgraffiti (earthenware and wall art where designs are scratched into a rendered overlay such as stucco) from houses in Rome, inlaid marble-work from Siena Cathedral and tomb-plates in Venice, Florence as well as basso-relievos from Roman and Venetian tombs.






Ceiling painting in the Palazzo Doria in Genoa, pilaster decoration from Raphael's loggia series at the Vatican and window-niche panels from the Vatican Museum.

The late 15th century discovery of the ancient Domus Aureus [highly recommended: one, two] and particularly the Titus baths, provided Raphael with inspiring ornaments to reinterpret, leading to the creation of new variations of motifs for figures and garlands etc.






Velvet and silk material decorations, marble table mosaic and various manuscript highlights. Despite the availability of the printing press, there was still a demand during the Renaissance for illumination in prestigious works that required multi-coloured outcomes and highly decorative initials, presenting a varied mixture of ancient, mythological and Christian motifs. The vegetation in the manuscript ornament veered away from the natural towards the stylised. Marble mosaics (eg. the vase above), on the other hand, reproduced natural world elements with some precision.






Profile and border decorations from vases, dishes, fountains and inkstand from Urbino, Florence and Pesaro. Tin-glazing was invented at the end of the 15th century and resulted in a total change in the faience* technique. [I don't understand much of what the author states about majolica-ware]






Door lintels and frames, friezes, pilaster strip, and door knockers from palaces and churches in Urbino, Siena and Florence.






Loggia details from the Vatican, borders and pilaster panels from the Villa di Papa Giulio in Rome.

"It is in about the year 1540 that the period of the so-called Late Renaissance begins. [..] We find no more the same charm and grace as in the creations of the Early and High Renaissance, but some cool, rather caluculating feature pervades the whole treatment.

The beautiful harmonious union of the figural with vegetable element, as well as the nicely balanced proportion of the colours to each other are somewhat decaying. The larger admission of white surfaces makes a dry and barren impression upon the spectator.

The vegetable ornament is less elaborately finished, its place being often taken by elements, from which later on the so-called cartouches were developed, and most of the figures do not show to advantage by their artificial composition. Neither in the disposition of this ornament over the field to be decorated, is the perfection of the previous epoch of art within this domain attained."

Pendants, jug handles, cup cover, shield masks, altar crowning (largest item) and vase decoration from Florence (at least). Some of the work was carried out by French artists. Benvenuto Cellini is considered the leading master of precious metal work from about the middle of the 16th century. "Plants, animals, human figures, frequently in the most strange compositions, by far preponderate over the purely geometric ornament."






































More scans from Heinrich Dolmetsch's 'Der Ornamentenschatz' (1887) {The Treasury of Ornament}. [I'll probably add some notes to the last few images over the weekend]

I suspect the translational anomalies are becoming fairly obvious by now (I have the English publication; it's not me translating). It's reasonable to be at least mildly suspicious about the veracity of all the commentary, although I tend to consider the translation rather than the original as the transmitter of discord, as it were. I tried to verify some elements but, for the most part, I have simply attempted to report or interpret into plain English what I've been reading. And, as I am dumber than a stick at times, there may well be introduced errors in addition to any original inaccuracies. Just so you know.

Previously: Part I and Part II. The final entry in this series will appear in the next week or thereabouts.

read more at BibliOdyssey

A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities
















































































































The images above come from Volume One of 'Locupletissimi Rerum Naturalium Thesauri' by Albertus Seba, 1734, newly available from the Missouri Botanical Garden's Botanicus website.

More than a hundred plates are accessible and can be individually downloaded in enormous jp2 image files. I have uploaded very large images to flickr, but the source site is the place to go for the 7000+ pixels-wide versions. We must thank blind luck for my even bothering to load this book; fairly obviously I can only look at a very small amount of material that passes across my screen and I didn't recognise the title. It was a totally random click.

I have posted a few plates from Seba previously and Mr H uploaded some photographs of other images a few years ago, but relatively few good quality scans from Seba's renowned publication have been easily accessible on the web before now. Two other sources I know of are: the University of Göttingen Volume I and Volume IV; and the Digital Library at Gdansk University of Technology appear to have a complete (microfilm) scan of the series. The quality of images at each of these sites is less than wonderful however. Let's hope Botanicus proceeds to digitise the remaining three volumes. There are more than four hundred plates in total.

"Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the 18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains one of the most prized natural history books of all time.

Though it was common for men of his profession to collect natural specimens for research purposes, Amsterdam-based pharmacist Albertus Seba (1665-1736) had a passion that led him far beyond the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of animals, plants and insects from all around the world gained international fame during his lifetime. In 1731, after decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each and every specimen and arranged the publication of a four-volume catalog detailing his entire collection-from strange and exotic plants to snakes, frogs, crocodiles, shellfish, corals, insects, butterflies and more, as well as fantastic beasts, such as a hydra and a dragon.

Seba's scenic illustrations, often mixing plants and animals in a single plate, were unusual even for the time. Many of the stranger and more peculiar creatures from Seba's collection, some of which are now extinct, were as curious to those in Seba's day as they are to us now."

That quote is taken from the Taschen site. They published an oversized (hand-coloured) facsimile version of Seba's 'Cabinet of Natural Curiosities' a few years ago and by all accounts it is a superb production. [Amazon page]

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Grotesque Alphabet















































































This late 16th century suite of ornamental letters by Giacomo Paolini is known as 'Grotesque Alphabet in Mythological Landscapes'. The only thing I discovered about Paolini is that he was an Italian artist.

To discover which letters I've omitted and which letters were missing from the modern day alphabet, you will need to track them down at the source: the British Museum Prints Database (search on "Giacomo Paolini" in the 'free text' field)

The lazy link: Greek mythology.

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Antipodean Fantasy
























































This May Gibbs poster was for the first Infant Welfare campaign by the NSW Health Department (before 1920 I think). Perhaps of much greater significance is the symbolism of juxtaposing an imported traditional figure (stork) with the local kookaburra. It speaks volumes both in terms of a generation of illustrators gaining confidence with adopting a new local visual language and, even if unintentional, I think the picture offers a revealing insight into the national psyche that continues to resonate today.

Australia's physical isolation and relative young age as a nation, as well as its modest population size has always engendered a certain lack of confidence in our competing - one way or another - in the wider world. It's strange to even think about it, let alone admit it in public, but it's absolutely true. We feel slightly intimidated, a little unsure of where we fit in and desirous of being told we are ok. Don't get me wrong, this national inferiority complex^¶ has a lot of benefits too, particularly in the way our arts industry has evolved; it has inspired an amazingly unique film industry for one and possibly accounts for our industrial-strength obsession with sport. There are sociological Honors projects buried in that there image, I'm sure. Or maybe *I* am seeing too much.
¶ That description comes with the caveat that it is a deep background, almost unconscious resonance, and is receding, ever so slightly, as time goes by.

"The Lone Hand began as an ambitious project, an all-Australian magazine of broad scope and high quality, by the standards of the time. Later in the war years, it declined in value and prestige, and went through changes in policy in the attempt to regain its leading position. It published an amount of early science fiction."

Stylistically very similar to May Gibbs from whom O'Harris inherited the mantle of leading children's book illustrator. They are probably the two most famous artists arising out of those early decades of the 20th century but O'Harris' career spanned more than sixty years (she ceased illustrating in the 1980s).










These pictures were scanned a while back from a couple of secondary compilation books on loan, but I'm afraid I've lost the book titles.

The first four decades of the 20th century were the 'golden age' of Australian book illustration, particularly in the fantasy - [a word applied loosely to some of the above examples]- genre. The above array is nowhere near comprehensive and I've intentionally left out Dorothy Wall, for instance, who will turn up in a dedicated post somewhere along the line in the future. Even if you didn't own works by the most famous of the Australian fantasy illustrators (I didn't...I don't think), many of their characters were - are - an inescapable part of the visual patchwork in the background, growing up here. Not too shabby really.

• Previously: Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (May Gibbs)
• Previously: The Magic Lindsay (Norman Lindsay - not seen above, but a hugely important figure both in book illustration and Australian art in general)
• Ida Rentoul Outhwaite.
• Margaret Clark.
• DH (David Henry) Souter.
• Ethel Spowers.
• Pixie O'Harris.
  

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Turnierbuch























































[Dual images were spliced together; all were modestly background cleaned; click through to large versions and very large images are also available.]


'Turnierbuch und Familienchronik' [BSB Cgm 1930] by Marx Walther (1506-1511) is available from the Bavarian State Library. [via Archimuse or W4RF or Archivalia]

Wikisource has background on Marx Walther but the translation is mostly gobbledegook.

Previously: festival.

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The Treasury of Ornament 2



From the 16th century Mosque of Ibrahim Aga at Cairo "exemplifying a mixture of the Persian and Arabian styles, inasmuch as the predominance of vegetable ornamentation directly points to Persian influence".






Surrounding an escutcheon rendered in bronze are door panels and window screening lattices in wood and bronze door fittings






"Arabian artists show special skill in surface decoration. Scroll work, rigidly idealised, alternates with geometrical figures, or else the arabesque ornament fills the compartments formed by the lines and bands. In this manner whole pages are painted in many Koran manuscripts. [..] The writing itself is in most cases bordered and surrounded with rosettes and friezes, which are filled in with ever new combinations of lines and foliage."






Pinnacles, panels, decoration, stalactites and corbels from the Alhambra in Spain and Cairo. "The columns at first followed Egyptian and Byzantine examples or were, in fact, composed of parts of Greek or Roman columns; later on however (since about the 12th century) they were formed in a style of their own, the capital consisting mainly of a cube decorated with foliage and scroll work."






Clay and marble wainscottings from the Alhambra, Cairo and Damasacus. "Arabian and Moorish mosaics are made partly of small pieces of coloured marble, partly of small clay plates, painted and glazed. Sometimes the designs are cut into the marble plates and the deepenings filled with coloured cement (stucco)."






(all details from the Alhambra) "Spain is the country, where the Islamitic art found its purest and most beautiful development in the buildings of the Moorish kings, for instance, in the palace of the Alhambra near Granada (13th and 14th century). Especially with the Moors, Mahomaden ornamentation reached its culminating point. [..] The characteristics of Arabian ornamentation are identical with the Moorish, but it may be added, that the former is neither so happy in the distribution of the ornament over the surface, nor so varied as the latter. The Moorish artists knew how to produce wonderful effects by artfully interlacing and twisting the geometrical patterns and arabesque ornaments; for here they could give full play, so to speak, to their richly gifted imagination."






From Mosques and tombs at Brussa and Mouradieh. The Turkish-specific system of ornamentation really began in the 15th century, derived at first from Byzantine and later, Persian and Arabian styles. Scroll work often leaves comparatively large areas of uncovered background and artists employed ingenious interlacements of several systems of lines. The author talks about the abundance of the "re-entering angle" seen in leaves and scrolls.






Pattern examples from the 7th to 11th centuries. "Among the Celtic populations of Ireland there was already in very early times an original style of ornament developed, the commencement of which no doubt goes far back to the days when heathenism still prevailed in that island. [..] For Celtic interlacing work, either filling up the spare surfaces of the letters or bordering the separate pages, the limbs or bodies of snakes, birds, dogs and fantastical animals were employed. Occasionally the human figure occurs, whereas the vegetable ornament is wholly wanting. Its introduction first dates from the 9th century, and after weak commencements, it spreads more and more, next the ribbon ornament, under the influence of the Romanesque style."






Details from Ravenna, Venice, Constantinople, Comburg and manuscript details from repositories in St Petersburg and Moscow.






"Sicilian articles exhibiting clearly the influence of Arabian ornamentation, without denying Byzantine forms. In these woven fabrics the ornament is always treated as surface decoration. The plants and animals which we see applied, do not exactly intimate nature, but are more or less idealised."






"The Romanesque ornament found its freest display in the illumination of manuscripts, where particularly the large initials were magnificently treated. Especially animals were here combined with scroll work in the most strange arabesque-like representations. The ground of the paintings in the earlier times was gold, later on many-coloured. In the art of enamelling, which had been transferred from Byzantium to Germany, the German artists attained a high point of perfection; only they took for their metal-ground copper-plates instead of the expensive gold-plates, and instead of email cloisonné* they employed champlevé* work which then spread also in France and made the manufacturies of Limoges far and wide renowned."






"From sites in Italy and Germany. "The colours used in wall painting are cheerful and of great variety. The human figures do not exhibit the same rigidity of old age as the contemporary Byzantine, but show a freer and more youthful movement. The folds of the garments following pretty closely the forms of the body, are much better modelled than, for instance, in the Byzantine images. As regards the ornament, all the pecularities of the Romanesque style are likewise applicable to it. Frequent use is made of the circle or parts or a circle."





Examples from Troyes, St Denis, Angers, Bourges, Paris, Strasbourg and Rome. The author's comments make little sense other than to note that glass painting began around the end of the 10th century.





Details shown are derived from mosaic floors, engraved stone flags and enamelled clay tiles in France, Germany and England. "Where stones of various colours for an artistic floor-incrustation were not available, it plainly was expedient, to use small clay-plates or engraved stone-flags for adorning the floors". In the period of dominance by the Romanesque style, the stone flags had decorative designs rendered in coloured cement (similar to Arabian ornamentation) and often fired with a transparent glazing. Designs in mosaic compositions were almost exclusively geometric patterns; in other types of floor incrustations, human figures, plants and animals were the dominat theme. "Among the plants the lily is most variously idealised, and as in glass-painting, the oak and wine leaves are everywhere repeated."






Designs come from church reading desks, vestry doors and stalls in Venice, Verona and Ulm. "It was no great step from adorning walls and floors with variously coloured materials to a similar decoration of wooden objects. Here however, ornamentation was somewhat limited by the nature of the wood; accordingly vegetable and figural representations are seldom found, at least in the Gothic style, whereas we meet most frequently with band and line ornament, in conjunction with a kind of mosaic work, consisting of small pieces of wood being arranged as stars etc."






"In the illumination of manuscripts the livelier forms of the ornament superseded slowly the round, surface-filling forms of the Romanesque style. The flowers were often idealised, also some direct from nature and the styles were sometimes combined, especially in the later Gothic time. Characteristically of this time is a deep shading, as well as the use of half tones, and the laying on of lights." [!?]





Middle-Ages Ceiling and Wall Painting

Details from churches in Germany (most) and France. "The further progress in wall-painting in the Gothic period was somewhat impeded by the want of wall surfaces suitable to the reception of larger pictures, whereas sufficient opportunity was given for ornamentation. The occurring figures were influenced by the upward direction and frequent narrowness of the space at disposal, wherefore they exhibit not seldom a too slender appearance."



These are further scans from 'Der Ornamentenschatz' (1887) by Heinrich Dolmetsch, first published in English in 1898 as 'The Treasury of Ornament'.

See also: The Treasury of Ornament I.

The Owen Jones classic of this genre, 'The Grammar of Ornament', was published in 1856 and is available from the Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture at the University of Wisconsin. I haven't (yet) compared the two works to get a sense of the degree of originality in the Dolmetsch book. {Next up: the Renaissance}

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Pratt Ex Libris


"William Ewart Gladstone - Northbourne d:d: 23 July 1839 - 23 July 1889," with the motto, 'Fide Et Virtute' features a coat of arms, a gryphon holding a sword, falcons, and an owl. Gladstone, a British political reformer and rival of Disraeli, was Prime Minister in England four times.





"Dr. Rene und Frau Ibach Isse" in Gothic script; includes monograms, "FI" and "RI" on shields, with ornamental design. Signed near bottom, "HTH" with "23."
[update: some of this is inaccurate; see flow's comment below]





"Ex Libris [...] Benes;" features a skeleton playing the cello and a nude woman with claws. Signed in lower left, "AIB 09." (1909)





"Bucherzeichen Otto Brinckmann" depicts a sailing ship on the ocean. Unsigned.





Depicts Saint George slaying the dragon, with large monogram "GA." Signed in lower right with unidentified monogram.





"Ex Libris Loresini Biazzi, Cremona" + "Stradivarius - Cremona" features a violin, probably a representation of the Cremona Stradivarius violin. Signed in upper left, "Willi Geiger;" with










"S Hollyer His Booke" depicts a library setting with a man at a desk reading a book while burning a hole through his chapeau. In the bottom right corner is a book titled "Hogarth." Signed at bottom right "S.Hollyer Eng."





Features a shield supported by elephants with roses. The shield bears a rose, garland, vertical and horizontal stripes, a helmet, and a crow (supposedly). The crest features a trumpet and a rooster.





Includes motto, 'Chemistry Astronomy Typography'; features a woman with globe, a woman with scroll, a woman with musical instrument, a bookshelf, a letterpress and a chemistry set.





Features the motto 'Inter folia frucus advor geneuenfis' and depicts a backgroumd of a grapevine design. Signed at bottom "E.G. Reuter."
[see flow's comment below]





Depicts a phoenix or an eagle standing on a stack of books and grasping a scroll with a lyre beneath.


The Pratt Institute Libraries have a collection of more than 1200 Ex Libris (bookplate) images in their flickr stream.

"The Ex Libris Collection consists of nineteenth- and twentieth-century bookplates from private and institutional libraries. The plates feature finely detailed engraving and etching, and serve as outstanding examples of period book art and typography."

The first six images above come from a selection of more than one hundred of the Pratt Libraries Ex Libris Collection posted at high resolution to LunaCommons

[The LunaCommons site - mentioned previously - contains a wealth of cultural material and is a potential (worthy) timesink. Essentially it's an easier way to access images from the family of collections among the LunaInsight browser portals arising out of the David Rumsey site]

Thanks Sara!

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The Treasury of Ornament 1



Relief figures, paintings and borders from a sarcophagus and temple columns






Capitals (sylised palms and papyrus), cornice and paintings from pylon, entablature, Luxor and Thebes temples, tomb chambers and mummy case






Details from bas-reliefs, glazed and enamelled bricks and painted ornament found at Khorsabad, Koyunjik and Nimroud






Friezes, cassette panels, cornices and painted ornament from Selinus, Propylaea and the temple of Nike Apteros and other sites in Athens





Wine amphora, drinking vessels and vases. "The oldest Greek vases are the most simply decorated; on a light ground colour of clay bands, circles, squares etc. used to be painted. But soon they appear also with friezes, decorated with figures of animals. [..] Subsequently figural representations appear between bands: undulating lines, heart-shapes and laurel leaves, meanders etc. [..] In the zenith of Greek ceramique art the colouring of the ground and of the ornamental and figural representations underwent a change. The orange colour of the clay was spared, the bacground filled with black. The figures, drawn with the brush, show much firmness and a noble elegance." {this snip gives a rough indication of the translational quality, such as it is, of the book}







Friezes, capitals, candelabra, rosettes and cornices - mainly corinthian with some composite and mixed corinthian/ionic features






Frieze, floor and plate-mosaics, many originating in Pompeii






The wallpaintings found at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae (and Rome) are probably reproductions of originals - now lost - by the Greek masters






Porcelain painting: The principal native plants used for decorative patterns are the leaves and flowers from the tea-shrub, roses, camellias, melons etc.






Vases, bowls, wooden chest and curtain designs (cloisonné is a technique where outlines of the scenes are formed by soldered metal borders and enamelling takes place within each resulting 'cell')






Where Chinese lacquer ware designs are dominated by scenes from nature, the Japanese art more often employs geometric patterns. The most precious papier-mâché and wooden objects have up to twenty coats of lacquer applied, often with reapplication of the design in gold paint (gilding) in between each layer of lacquer, resulting in a 'relief' appearance






Porcelain and enamelled vases and border patterns from silk.






Etched and damascened ornament/decoration on battle axes, inlaid rhino skin shield and various copper and tin vessels (including a hookah)






Carpets, plaited rush mat, cashmere shawl, painted lacquer and embroidered silk. Primary natural motives include the lotus and palm branch






Chiselled, enamelled and jewelled arms, embroidered fans, table cover, saddle cloth and parasol; woven shawl and woven material borders, lacquer bookcover and illuminated manuscript designs.






Entablature, window frame, column capitals, minaret and various architectural details (all from Isfahan*)






Fayence (tin-glazed) plates and wall wainscot borders. "Both the invariably flat treatment of the ornament and the prevalence of the natural imitation of flowers constitute the characteristic style of Persian decoration."



This is the first of three or maybe four posts presenting scans (by me) from 'The Treasury of Ornament' by Heinrich Dolmetsch, first published as 'Der Ornamentenschatz' by Verlag von Julius Hoffman in Stuttgart in 1887.

The book is fairly fragile and I can't of course pull it apart, so it's difficult to get the highest grade quality: there's some focus anomalies at the edges at times but overall I don't think it's too bad. I'll probably end up scanning about three quarters of the total plates.

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Icones Zootomicae


























































Some wonderful lithography work in these cropped (and slightly doctored) details from plates in the 1857 Julius Victor Carus book on invertebrate animals: 'Icones Zootomicae, die Wirbellosen Thiere', available as always in enormous page images from the excellent Universities of Strasbourg Digital Library collection.

"Julius Victor Carus (1823-1903) was a zoologist, editor, and historian of science. Educated in German universities and at Oxford, he served on the faculties of the latter, as well as the universities at Edinburgh and Leipzig. Carus is probably best remembered as editor of the Zoologischer Anzeiger, a position he held from its inception in 1878 until his death. He was also recognized for the translation into German of many of the classical works of Charles Darwin." [also & online works]

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Landjuweel and the Chambers of Rhetoric














































As is so often the case on the erratic path taken by this blog, the background to a series of arresting or compelling images - that chooses to randomly dive in front of my passing browser - offers its own fascinating dimension for exploration and provides both context and added depth to the visual subject matter.

On this occasion however, the connection between the imagery and the story is not so much tenuous - although it might be that too - as relatively obscure. The pictures do follow directly from an unusual or at least esoteric episode of regional cultural history, but exactly why the one begat the other is a little beyond my powers of distillation, let's say. Enlightening comments are invited. Inventive fiction will otherwise suffice.

The story begins in the Low Countries during the 15th century with the gradual establishment of drama guilds, a concept that was almost certainly imported from France. These chambers of rhetoric or rederijkerskamer, as they came to be called, developed into companies of amateur actors and authors who wrote and performed vernacular plays and lyrical poetry for the enjoyment of their local townsfolk. From our vantage point you might think of them as a cross between literary societies, political lobby forums and theatre sports.

Early compositions were dominated by religious dramatic and pious verse in keeping with the church fraternity origins of the chambers. Rederijkers (rhetoricians) eventually came to incorporate satire and social and political commentary into their productions. This of course drew the ire of the authorities who essentially tried to manipulate and infiltrate this Renaissance equivalent of the mass media.

"The influence of the rhetoricians on social and spiritual life, specifically their part in the Reformation, must not be underestimated. Especially in the sixteenth century, the period of their greatest success, they were a factor which both church and state had to take into account.

Over the years their power and possessions had increased steadily; they enjoyed the protection of the authorities everywhere, and during festivals and processions they added a splendour which no other guild could offer to the same degree. The magnificence of their performances, the humour and seriousness of their plays, their candid criticism of church and society earned them respect from the magistrates who saw them play in the town hall just as much as from the bourgeoisie who saw them play in the market square."

The individual chambers had their own name, slogan and insignia or coat of arms and their plays and performances were affected to varying degrees by local cultural concerns. This apparent provincial quality was tempered by a relative uniformity of structure among all the chambers, with similar hierarchies, rules and prohibitions enforced. The very nature of the chambers also meant that the rederijkers were drawn from a narrow strata of society: this was the literate middle to upper classes, whether in Ghent or Amsterdam or Antwerp (by the middle of the 16th century, virtually every town and city in the Low Countries had at least one chamber of rhetoric). This shared commonality of structure, function and membership probably explains, to an extent, how the chambers were able to exert such a remarkable influence across all the territories in which they were located.

"Formal competition within individual chambers grew into formal competitions between chambers. These competitive festivals, called landjuweels (literally "jewel" or "prize of the land"), pitted cities' chambers against one another in a series of contests strictly governed by rules of form. [..]

A landjuweel could last for several days or sometimes for several weeks. Performances were open to the public, and by all contemporary accounts, attended enthusiastically. Contestants competed for prizes in a number of categories including: the best play, the best farcical entertainment, the most beautiful blazon, the best acting, the best poem, the best reader of a poem, the best orator, the best song, the best singing, the fool who entertained the best "without villainy"."

And what does all this have to do with the trophies, blazons, rebus and allegorical engravings displayed above you might well ask? Good question. The simple answer is that following the Antwerp landjuweel of 1561, transcripts of the plays performed were assembled into book form and a supplement of illustrations (some by Frans Floris), poems and musical lyrics was also produced. A hint accounting for the nature of illustrative material seen in the manuscript may derive from one of the play topics at Antwerp; something along the lines of: which is the greatest motivation of artists? or what best leads mankind to the arts? (referencing the seven liberal arts)

This synopsis is fairly inadequate on a number of levels, partly due the lack of accessible material in English (also because it's time for me to abandon it). The rederijkerskamer were a hugely significant phenomenon across a couple of centuries (some variation or another of the landjuweel survives to this day as a festival, most notably in Belgium) and they greatly influenced not only the thinking of the citizens but also helped shaped the development of the modern Dutch language. Because the dramatists were amateurs, their written output became the subject of sharp criticism and mockery since their heyday in the 16th century. Doubtless a modern industry of academic enquiry dutifully puzzles over this and many other aspects of the rederijkerskamer movement.

• Landjuweel de 1561 (in French) is hosted by Belgica: la Bibliothèque Numérique de la Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique. (click 'Feuilleter le document' - it's a flash display and might be a bit wonky depending on browser/operating system) [Dutch site]
• The Rhetoricians ('rederijkers') and their influence on Dutch.
• Landjuweels.
• 'The Reformation' edited by Andrew Pettegree, 2004 (search on 'landjuweel' I think).
• The Antwerp Landjuweel of 1561 and the rhetorician culture of the sixteenth century: (PhD proposal).
• Rare Books Forum on a 1539 account of a landjuweel.
• If you speak/read Dutch, look around because there is a lot of information online.
• ¶Motto of the violet chamber of Antwerp, hosts of the 1561 landjuweel (can also be seen above at the foot of their coat of arms/insignia that features a bull in the centre)

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Watch-Paper Prints

































































































Watchpaper; painted with grotesque seated woman with bowl of gruel














1360: Henry de Vick constructs the first (totally) mechanical clock for King Charles V of France [arguable? probably]
1475: First record of a minute hand on a clock
Mid-1500s: First wearable timepieces: several inches in diameter worn on chain around the neck or pinned to the clothes --- "later in the century there was a trend for unusually shaped watches, and clock-watches shaped like books, animals, fruit, stars, flowers, insects, crosses, and even skulls (Death's head watches) were made."
1610: Glass face covers first appear
1675: King Charles II of England introduced waistcoats which coincides with the ascendancy of the pocketwatch (first made in the early 1500s) over the more cumbersome timepieces
1850: Mass production, jewel bearings, interchangeable parts; price fall leads to a great increase in the numbers of people gadding about with their own horological device
WWI: Wrist watches begin their ascendancy (checking a pocketwatch was inconvenient as a soldier)


Hands up anyone who knew what a watch-paper print was? Yeah, I thought so. Me neither. Even after jagging all the images I wasn't quite sure how they were specifically used until I found that last picture above.

Originally designed as a simple protective insert, watch-papers came to be used as an advertising medium for the watchmakers in the second half of the 18th century and another means by which print artists could ply their trade. These types of 'professional' or conservative watch-papers form the majority of the genre, but a popular 'amateur' variety also emerged that were valued as keepsakes.

"Women embroidered flower patterns on silk watch papers and made cutout or pinpricked designs of hearts, doves, forget-me-nots and wreaths. They also made them of woven hair or crocheted them from fine silk thread or quilted them. Hand-stitched monograms in wreaths of laurel or moss roses and hand-painted watch papers were especially popular.

Often early handmade watch papers took the form of a valentine or birthday greeting or a memorial for dead loved ones, showing a tombstone shadowed by a weeping willow. Examples have also been found with the Lord's Prayer in minute hand-writing and with a miniature map of part of the United States."

The British Museum Prints database has over 700 specimens of watch-paper prints available and although there is often little in the way of background, I would think the average date is around 1800 (I believe a large proportion of their stock derives from a single donor collection). [toggle down to 'object type' and search with 'watch-paper']

• 'Watch Papers Are More Than Protection' by Bob Brooke at Antique Spotlights (origin of quote immediately above)
• Wikipedia: watch -- pocketwatch -- clock
• 'American Watch Papers' by Dorothy Elizabeth Spear, 1951/2 - WorldCat record.
• 'Watch papers from Essex, England' (?1807-1841) - WorldCat record. {these were the only books I found : it's a very very esoteric subject and searching for any information was surprisingly difficult; but then, I didn't put in a great effort}
• Lew Jaffre has a few more example pictures at Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie (including one engraved by Paul Revere in 1781).
• Addit: The plot of 'The Dean's Watch' by Elizabeth Goudge (1960) involves, in part, a watch-paper (thanks Eve!)
  

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Forest Fungi











































These two works have no connection other than they hit the radar at about the same time. I think they're both solid or honest attempts, from either end of the 19th century, to present specimen illustrations with little in the way of stylistic embellishment. The book on fungi, in particular, seems to be be a fairly comprehensive review of the phylum, with just as many plates devoted to the often overlooked and less visually arresting smaller species - as well as attempts at depicting the obscure life cycles - as there are for the traditional mushroom and toadstool forms. (The plates chosen above don't really reflect this.)

'Das System der Pilze und Schwämme: ein Versuch' (~An attempt at a system of fungi and sponges) by CGD Nees von Esenbeck, 1817, is online at the University of Heidelberg. (hand-coloured engravings)

'Flore Forestière :Illustrée Arbres et Arbustes du Centre de l'Europe' (~Forest flora: illustrated trees and shrubs from central Europe) by C de Kirkwan, 1872, is online at the Missouri Botanical Gardens Botanicus website. (chromolithographs)

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