Caspar Merian, “Statt Gransee”, c. 1652

Caspar Merian (1627–1686)

“Statt Gransee,” c. 1652— A panoramic view of the historic fortified city of Gransee in Brandenburg, Germany, located approximately 55 km northwest of Berlin.

This engraving is of significant historical importance, as it documents Gransee’s medieval character and original fortifications before the devastating Great Fire of 1711. 

Principal landmarks (identified in the index at right):

• Die Kirche (A) – St. Marien Gothic parish church with its iconic twin towers
• Die Schule (B) – The Latin School, a centre of post-Reformation education lost in the 1711 fire
• Das Rathaus (C)— The Town Hall, symbolising the city's civic status
• Lindawsche Thor (D) – The Lindow Gate, pointing west; dismantled in the 19th century
• Zodenicksche Thor (E) – The Zehdenick Gate, the eastern exit toward the Havel River

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on laid paper with partial watermark—resembling the fletching of an arrow, consistent with paper used by the Merian workshop—and small margins. The sheet retains the original vertical centrefold as issued, now flattened with the fold lightly replenished and supported with tissue-thin (Kozo) washi paper. 

This etching is the lower plate of two printed on the same sheet facing page 57 in Matthäus Merian the Elder’s (1593–1650) “Topographia Electorat Brandenburgici et Ducatus Pomeraniae,” first published circa 1652 (see here: https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.012564/page/n95/mode/2up). This impression is from the 1700 edition.

The impression is strong and well-printed. The sheet is in near pristine condition for its age—free of tears, holes, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 16.5 x 42 cm
• Platemark: 14.9 x 39.1 cm
• Outer image borderline: 14.5 x 38.7 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Upper centre: “Statt Gransee”
• Upper right (legend of sites lettered in image): “A. Die Kirche. / B. Die Schule. / C. Das Rathaus. / D. Lindawsche Thor. / E. Zodenicksche Thor.”
• Lower edge at centre: “C.M f”

Price & Shipping:

AU$244 (approximately US$171.51 / €149.78 / £129.38), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in this historically significant and spectacular 17th-century panoramic view of Gransee—created before the Great Fire of 1711—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’ll gladly provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

Charles Jacque, “La Rentrée”, 1864

Charles Jacque (also known as Charles Émile Jacque) (1813–1894)

“La Rentrée” (The Return), 1864

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with drypoint and engraving on watermarked laid paper with generously wide margins. According to Henri Beraldi’s 1889 catalogue, this is plate 15 from a series of 25 etchings published in 1864. 

This impression was printed in Paris by François Liénard (active c. 1860s–1880s) and is in the final state. The impression is richly inked and well-printed. Aside from mounting remnants verso, the sheet is in near pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, stains, or signs of handling.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 30.6 x 47 cm
• Platemark: 16 x 20.5 cm
• Image borderline: 12.8 x 19.2 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Within the image borderline: (left): “ch. Jacque”
• Below the image borderline (left to right): “CH. JACQUE” / “LA RENTRÉE” / “N°. 15_3.” / “F. LIÉNARD. IMP.”

References:

•  Guiffrey 191(J.-J. Guiffrey, “L’Oeuvre de Ch. Jacque: Catalogue de ses Eaux-Fortes et Pointes Sèches,” 1868, Paris, Lemaire, p. 94, cat. no. 191)
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1865-0429-162
• Harvard: https://hvrd.art/o/264843
• IFF 294 (Jean Adhémar & Jacques Lethève, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: HUMBLOT–JYG,” vol. 11, 1960, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, p. 115, cat. no. 294)—https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5489301d/f127.item  
• Beraldi 191 (Henri Beraldi, “Les Graveurs du Dix-Neuvième Siècle: GUÉRIN–LACOSTE,” vol. VIII, 1889, Paris, Librairie L. Conquet, p. 188, cat. no. 191—plate 15 from a series of 25 plates published in 1864)

Price & Shipping:

AU$254 (approximately US$180.86 / €156.57 / £135.23), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in this superb impression of an exemplary Barbizon School etching—capturing a poignant moment of rural life as a startled hen takes flight to escape an approaching flock of sheep—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’ll gladly provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

John Sturt, “Videritis”, 1698

John Sturt (1658-1730)

“Videritis,” 1698

Please note that the large, highly ornate initial letter “V”—the first letter of “Videritis” (meaning “you will see”)—is a decorative cadel (or drop cap) in a dense, blackletter style. This flourish likely indicates that a student of handwriting was about to explore letter-forms that would enhance a scribe’s dexterity with a quill.

Technical Details & Condition:

Original engraving on watermarked laid paper with full margins as issued. This engraving is based on a design by John Ayres (fl. 1680–1700) and is an illustration in Ayres’ “A Tutor to Penmanship,” a two-part copybook published in London in 1698, with a dedication to King William III. 

The designs in the copybook were crafted for Ayres’ instruction in the art of fine penmanship, conducted at “Hand and Pen” near St. Paul’s Churchyard in London. 

This plate and the publication can be viewed online at: https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_a-tutor-to-penmanship_ayres-john_1698/page/n47/mode/2up.

The impression is strong and well-printed. The sheet has surface marks but remains in good condition, with no tears, holes, folds, or significant stains.

Dimensions: 

• Sheet: 23.5 x 35.3 cm
• Platemark: 19.9 x 32.1 cm

Price & Shipping:

AU$242 (approximately US$171.12 / €148.78 / £128.60), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this exceptionally rare and remarkable example of 17th-century engraved penmanship, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

John William Lewin, “Sandpiper,” 1793

John William Lewin (1770–1819) — the first free artist to settle in New South Wales, Australia, and the first printmaker in the colony (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG35701)

“Sandpiper,” or “Dunlin” (as titled in the plate), 1793 

The name “Dunlin” is the common English term derived from the 16th-century word “dunling,” where “dun” means dull brown and “-ling” is a diminutive suffix—essentially meaning “little brown one.” 

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on wove paper with the original hand-colouring of publication and full margins as issued. This plate is number 177, facing page 26, in the sixth volume (of eight) of Lewin’s “The Birds of Great Britain Systematically Arranged, Accurately Engraved, and Painted from Nature…”, published by Joseph Johnson (1738–1809) in London in 1795. 

Archive.org offers an online view of the publication, providing context for this print and its accompanying description: https://archive.org/details/BirdsGreatBritaVI/page/177/mode/1up.

This is an exceptionally fine impression, with vivid original hand-colouring that has been sensitively applied and remains unfaded. The sheet is in pristine condition, free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling.

Dimensions: 

• Sheet: 34 x 23.3 cm
• Platemark: 17.4 x 13.7 cm

Numbered and Lettered on Plate: 

• Upper right corner: “177”
• Lower centre: “DUNLIN. I.W. Lewin, del.et.sculp._Published as the Act directs, Nov.7. 1793.”

Price & Shipping:

AU$244 (approximately US$171.02 / €149.37 / £129.02), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this delicate and beautifully coloured etching, which captures a Sandpiper in a tense moment of alertness as it seems to examine the viewer, ready for a quick escape—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I am happy to provide a secure PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.