Adriaen Collaert, “Septem Planetæ”, 1581, after Maarten de Vos

Adriaen Collaert (c.1560–1618)

“Babyhood Under the Influence of the Moon” (aka “Luna”; “Babytijd onder invloed van de maan”), 1581, plate 1 following the title plate to the series of eight engravings (including the title plate), “Septem Planetæ” (aka “The Seven Planets and Seven Ages”; “De zeven planeten en zeven leeftijden”; “Septem planetae, septem hominis”), showing the power of the seven planets over the seven ages of man (see Rijksmuseum inv. no. RP-P-1925-74) after the design by Maarten de Vos (aka Maarten de Vos; Maerten de Vos) (1532–1603), published in Amsterdam by Gerard de Jode (aka Geeraert/Geerart/Gerardo/Gheerde/Gheraerde/Girard de Jode) (1516/17–1591).

Engraving on laid paper with full margins as published.

Size: (sheet) 36.3 x 25.2 cm; (plate) 30.3 x 22.2cm; (image borderline) 28.8 x 21.9cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: “Auspicio LVNÆ, NATVRÆ munera crescent/ Robur et hinc INFANS concipit omne suum// 1// M. D. Vos Inuentor/ A. Collaert fecit”.

New Hollstein Dutch 1299 (Ann Diels and Marjolein Leesberg [comp.] 2005/6, “The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts 1450–1700: The Collaert Dynasty”, Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel, Sound and Vision, p. 20 [p. 23 image], cat. no. 1299).

See the description of this print offered by the British Museum (inv. no. 1862,0712.321).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “In the air floats the planet goddess Luna, the moon. She is accompanied by Cancer, her astrological sign. In the foreground the personification of Natura, nature. She suckles two children and has a mother hen and a cornucopia as attributes. Her city crown also identifies her as Cybele, mother of the gods. In the background toddlers and pre-schoolers play with each other. The print has a Latin caption and is part of a seven-part series about the power of the seven planets over the seven ages of man” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.96916).

Condition: a well-printed slightly silvery impression with full margins as published and in a very good condition with no tears, holes, folds or significant stains.

I am selling this rare engraving executed only 17 years after Michelangelo hung up his boots for the last time, for AU$336 (currently US$220.91/EUR204.21/GBP170.31 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$336) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this somewhat spectacular and curiously interesting engraving showing the influence of the moon personified as the planet goddess, Luna, on infants representing the first of the seven ages of man—or as the Latin caption explains in translation: “Under the auspices of the Moon, Nature's gifts grow stronger, and hence the child conceives all its own”—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Étienne Delaune, “Fire”, c.1576

Étienne Delaune (aka Stephanus) (c1518–83)

“Fire” (aka “Le Feu”; “Vuur”), c.1576 (1573–1580), a first state, lifetime, impression from the series of four plates, “The Four Elements” (aka “Personificaties van de vier elementen; “De vier elementen”).

Engraving on fine laid paper trimmed along the platemark and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 5.3 x 6.6cm; (oval image borderline) 5.1 x 6.4cm.

Inscribed in plate within the image borderline: (lower left) “S[tephanus]”.

State i (of ii) before the addition of the number “12” at the lower right corner.

IFF 114 (Jean Adhémar 1932–38, “Inventaire du Fonds Français: Graveurs du Seizième Siècle”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, vol. 1, p. 238, cat. no. 114); Robert-Dumesnil 106 (A P F Robert-Dumesnil 1835, “Le peintre-graveur français, ou catalogue raisonné des estampes gravées par les peintres et les dessinateurs de l'école française: ouvrage faisant suite au peintre-graveur de Bartsch”, vol. 9, Paris, G Warée, pp. 42-43, cat.no. 106 [https://archive.org/details/bnf-bpt6k65575421/page/n63/mode/2up]).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “Jupiter, seated on a cloud above a landscape with a castle” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.103019).

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression trimmed along the platemark and laid onto a sheet of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions or significant stains.

I am selling this small and finely crafted engraving—a true jewel of an engraving—for the total cost of AU$318 (currently US$209.85/EUR194.30/GBP161.90 at the time of posting this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$318) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this sensitively rendered engraving—note the engraver’s skill in representing in the minutest of details the burning lime-kilns shown in the distance and all the amazing details portraying the cloud-borne Jupiter with his thunderbolt and eagle attributes all within in space of less than 2cm square—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold 

Diana Scultori, “The Birth of John the Baptist”, c.1580, after Giulio Romano

Diana Scultori (aka Diana Ghisi; Diana Mantovana) (1536–1598)

Note that the Curator of the British Museum advises: “The authorship of this print is highly contested. S. Massari considers it to have been done by Diana, while P. Bellini considers it to be a dubious attribution. Other scholars have suggested that it was made by C. Cort. See Paolo Bellini, ‘L'opera incisa Adamo e Diana Scultori’, Vicenza, 1991, pp. 266-68” (BM inv. no. V,8.2).

“The Birth of John the Baptist” (TIB title) (aka “La Naissance de St. Jean Baptiste”; “Geboorte van Johannes de Doper”), c.1580, after a drawing by Giulio Romano (aka Giulio Giannuzzi; Giulio Pippi) (c.1499–1546), published in Rome in c.1580 (between 1547–1612).

Engraving on laid paper, trimmed around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 41 x 36.5cm.

TIB 31.26 (Suzanne Boorsch & John Spike [eds.] 1986, “The Illustrated Bartsch: Italian Artists of the Sixteenth Century”, vol. 31, New York, Abaris Books, p. 266, cat. no. 26).

The Rijksmuseum offers the following description of this print: (transl.) “In the background on the right, Elizabeth lies in childbirth and is embraced by one of the women who visit her. Angels hold up the canopy of her bed. In the front left, a group of women are giving the child a bath. From a window in the back wall of the room, God the Father watches the events” (http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.98903).

Diana Scultori is an exceptionally important female figure in the Renaissance and her significance is underlined by being the first woman to obtain the privilege (copyright) to sell her artworks under her own name. Interestingly Scultori changed her name according to the power politics at play at the time with the intention of attracting influential patrons. In short, Scultori’s skill as an engraver, her strategic and flexible use of her identity and having a tight rein on copyright—from memory (and I may be wrong about this) I believe that Scultori even placed the first copyright on a cap design! (albeit a nightcap for men that was decorated with a scene of Delft)—make her a true milestone figure in the history of art.

Condition: a strong and early impression (possibly lifetime impression based on the quality of the line showing no sign of wear to the printing plate) trimmed around the image borderline (following the curve of the upper edge) and laid upon a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper. The sheet has darkened (or possibly the paper is grey) with many small restorations for fractures, tears and losses, but there are no significant stains.

I am selling this major engraving by one of the most important female artists of the Renaissance period, for the total cost of AU$356 (currently US$235.19/EUR217.71/GBP181.44 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$356) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this large engraving by arguably one of the savviest business women in the arts during the Renaissance, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Letter from General Coste de Champeron to Lancer Captain Boulon de Moncey, 1863

A letter from the illustrious general of the French cavalry during the period of Napoleon III, General Coste de Champeron (aka General Gustave-Jean-Jacques-Louis Coste de Champeron [see https://gw.geneanet.org/pierfit?lang=en&p=gustave&n=coste+de+champeron]) (1807–1874), giving a negative response to a request for promotion from Lancer Captain Bourlon de Moncey.

From a personal standpoint this letter is much more than a rare and unusual historical document.
For me, the tone and the brevity of what is written, along with the small size of the page made even smaller with fold marks in half and then into quarters, reflects not only personal dynamics but also the broader context of military culture during the Second Empire in France (1852–70).

Histoire de Guerre offers the following biographical details about General Coste de Champeron: (transl.) “COSTE DE CHAMPERON (Gustave-Jean-Jacques-Louis). French cavalry general (Paris 1807 – 1874). A graduate of the Saint-Cyr military school, second lieutenant in 1830, he was admitted to the Saumur cavalry school, then served in Algeria. Lieutenant in 1832, captain in 1835, he returned to France, was appointed lieutenant-colonel in 1848, colonel in 1852. He returned to Algeria before leaving for the Crimean War. Brigadier general since 1854, he then took part in the Italian campaign. He commanded the cavalry division of the 2nd Army during the Franco-German War of 1870” (https://www.histoire-de-guerre.net/article/item/1380-coste-de-champeron).

Hand written letter in brown ink on buff coloured laid paper with folds.

Size: (sheet) 21 x 27cm.

Regarding the hand-written text, although I can decipher enough words to appreciate the broad tone of the letter, I am unable to provide a reliable translation.

Condition: Beyond signs of wear along the fold marks of the page, the sheet is in a good condition with no tears, holes or significant stains.

I am selling this curiously interesting historical document from the period of Napoleon III in France, signed by General Coste de Champeron and advising Lancer Captain Bourlon de Moncey that his request for a promotion had been declined, for the total cost of AU$256 (currently US$169.12/EUR156.56/GBP130.52 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$256) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this unique letter, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Richard Earlom, “Diana and Her Nymphs”, 1787, after Giovanni Battista Cipriani

Richard Earlom (aka [pseud.] Henry Birche) (1743–1822)

“Diana and Her Nymphs”, 1787, number 36 in a series of 50 etchings after drawings by Giovanni Battista Cipriani (aka Giuseppe Cipriani; John Baptist Cipriani) (1727–1785), “A Collection of Prints after the Sketches and Drawings of the late Celebrated Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Esqr R.A.” (see https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.43533.html), published in London by John Boydell (1719–1804) and his nephew, Josiah Boydell (1752–1817).

The portrayed scene shows Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, standing at left holding her iconic bow and offering a rabbit to the closer of her four companion nymphs (see description of this print by the British Museum [inv. no. 1861,0518.369]).

Etching and aquatint on wove paper, trimmed around the image borderline with loss of publication details and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 24.2 x 32.7 cm.

Wessely 485 (J E Wessely 1886 “Richard Earlom, Verzeichniss seiner Radirungen und Schabkunstblätter”, Hamburg, cat. no. 485).

Condition: a strong impression trimmed around the image borderline and laid upon a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing wide margins. The sheet is in an excellent condition with no tears, holes, folds or significant stains.

I am selling this seemingly loosely inscribed etching following a drawing by Giovanni Battista Cipriani—a founding member of the Royal Academy—for the total cost of AU$289 (currently/approximately US$191.44/EUR176.83/GBP147.63 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$289) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this freely drawn composition revealing not only a haptic leaning to drawing (viz. drawing as if describing a form by the sense of touch rather than describing its superficial details) but also a deep knowledge of anatomy—note how the lines follow the course of muscles rather than defining a silhouette outline of the portrayed subjects—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Henry Augustin Valentin, “Le Christ Mort”, 1879, after Hans Holbein the Younger (2nd copy)

Henry Augustin Valentin (1822–1886)

“Le Christ Mort” (title inscribed on plate), 1879, after Hans Holbein the Younger’s (c.1497–1543) oil and tempera painting, “The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb” (1520–22) in the Musée de Bâle (Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel), printed by Albert Quantin (1850–1930) and published in 1879 in Paris in the “Gazette des Beaux-Arts”, vol. 44, insert between pp. 98–99.

Regarding Holbein’s painting, Wikipedia cites the interesting proposal by the art historians, Oscar Bätschmann and Pascal Griener, that Christ's raised and extended middle finger appears to "reach towards the beholder", while his strands of hair "look as if they are breaking through the surface of the painting" (Oskar Bätschmann, & Pascal Griener 1999, “Hans Holbein”, London, Reaktion Books, p. 88 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_of_the_Dead_Christ_in_the_Tomb]).

Etching on wove paper with flatten gatefold and full margins as published, backed with a support sheet.

Size: (sheet) 28 x 35.7 cm; (plate) 12.8 x 35 cm; (outer image borderline) 7.9 x 32 cm.

Lettered in plate along the upper edge of the image: “IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDAEORVM” (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews).

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (left) “Hans Holbein pinx/ Gazette des Beaux-Arts”; (centre) “LE CHRIST MORT/ (Musée de Bâle); (right) “H. Valentin sculp/ Imp. A Quantin”.

Condition: a richly inked and near faultless impression with generous margins laid upon a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper (to enable the gatefold crease to be flattened). The sheet is in a near pristine condition with no tears, holes, abrasions, foxing or significant stains.

I am selling this visually arresting etching of Holbein’s famous painting of Christ’s entombed body stretched by crucifixion with eyes and mouth open, for the total cost of AU$246 (currently US$163.46/EUR151.54/GBP126.47 at the time of this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$246) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this grim but superb etching, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Note that this is the second impression of this marvellous etching that I have listed. The previous copy has been sold.

This print has been sold