Michel Wolgemut, “City of Marseille”, 1493

Michel Wolgemut (or Michael Wohlgemuth) (1434–1519)—possibly in collaboration with Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (c. 1458–1494)

Leaf with woodcut, “City of Marseille” (or as described in the German text, “Massillia”), 1493 (German Edition, published December 23)

Technical Details & Condition:

Woodcut with incunabula letterpress German text on laid paper, complete with margins as issued.  The leaf features a large woodcut and is page 61 (“LXI”) from Hartmann Schedel‘s (1440–1514) “Nuremberg Chronicle” (Liber Chronicarum), published in Nuremberg by Anton Koberger (1445–1513).

The recto features a large woodcut “prospect” of the city of Marseille (Massillia). As was common in 15th-century cartography, this woodblock serves as a generalized representation of a fortified Mediterranean port rather than a surveyed map; notably, this same block was reused by Koberger to represent other cities (such as Verona and Nicea) elsewhere in the Chronicle.

The verso (reverse) features five smaller woodcut portraits representing a lineage of ancient wisdom:

• “Pherecides Philosophus” (Pherecydes of Syros)
• “Pytagoras Philosophus” (Pythagoras)
• “Sopho poetissa” (Sappho)
• “Ezechiel propheta” (Ezekiel)
• “Daniel propheta” (Daniel)

These portraits exemplify the “generic” woodcut style of the period, where the same block was often used to depict multiple historical figures across the 1,809 illustrations in the book. 

The woodcuts and accompanying letterpress text are richly inked and well-printed. There are minor surface marks consistent with age; a small area of thinning at the upper right corner (recto) from previous mounting—this does not affect the printed image. Aside from these minor issues, the sheet remains in excellent antiquarian condition for its large size and age, free of tears, holes, folds, or significant stains. 

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 44.5 x 31.5 cm
• Image borderline of “City of Marseille”: 19.5 x 22.7 cm

References:

• The British Museum offers a detailed description of the Nuremberg Chronicle (see “Curator’s comments”): https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1870-1008-1938-1-136

Price & Shipping:

AU$426 (approximately US$299.21 / €258.49 / £224.27), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this rare and large woodcut—a lifetime impression from 1493 and a true masterpiece of the incunabula period, printed at the very time Leonardo da Vinci was painting his famous “The Last Supper”—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will be happy to send a PayPal invoice for a smooth and secure purchase. 

This print has been sold 

Harmen Jansz. Muller, “The Servant Buries his Talent”, c.1570, after Gerard van Groeningen (2nd copy)

Harmen Jansz. Muller (1540–1617)

“The Servant Buries his Talent” (aka “Dienaar begraaft zijn talent”), c.1570 (1565–72)

Technical Details & Condition:

Engraving on fine laid paper with the Arms of Amsterdam watermark, with a small margin around the platemark and backed with a support sheet of tissue-thin (Kozo) washi paper. 

This is plate 3 from the series of six engravings, “The Parable of the Talents,” after the design by Gerard van Groeningen (also known as Gerard van Groenning, Gerard P Groenning, Gerard Groenning, Gerardum Groeninghen, Gerrit van Groenwegen, Gerardo a Gruningen) (fl. 1550–1599). 

The print was first published in Antwerp in its initial state by Gerard de Jode (1509/17–1591) in “Thesaurus novi Testamenti elegantissimis iconibus expressus continens historias atque miracula doni nostri Iesu Christi” (1579–85). It was later reissued in Amsterdam in its second and final state by Claes Jansz. Visscher II (1587–1652) in “Theatrum Biblicum Hoc Est Historiae Sacrae Veteris et Novi Testamenti Tabulis Aeneis Expressae” (1646). 

This impression is from Visscher’s second state, with the addition of the biblical reference (“Matt. 25.18.”) and the number “3” below the image at the lower right corner. 

This is a strong impression. Aside from a closed tear in the upper margin, the sheet is in excellent condition for its age—free of holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 22.5 x 31.2 cm
• Platemark: 20.3 x 29.2 cm

Plate Numbering and Lettering:

• Within the image at lower right: “3”
• On column base at lower right: “[Artist’s monogram] F”
• Below image: “Qui vero unum acceperat abiens fodit in terram et abscondit pecuniam Domini sui. Matt. 25. 18. 3”

References:

• New Hollstein Dutch (Harmen Jansz. Muller) 51 (Ger Luijten [ed.], “The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450–1700: The Muller Dynasty”, 1999, vol. 1, Rotterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, p. 134, cat. no. 51)
• New Hollstein Dutch (Gerard van Groeningen) 110 (Christiaan Schuckman [comp.] 1997, “The New Hollstein: Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450–1700: Gerard van Groeningen”, vol. 1, Rotterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet Sound and Vision Interactive, p. 146, cat. no. 110)
• Mielke 49 (H. Mielke, “Antwerpener Graphik in der 2. Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts. Der Thesaurus veteris et novi Testamenti des Gerard de Jode (1585) und seine Künstler,” in: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, vol. 38, no. 1, 1975, p. 82, cat. no. 49)
• Rijksmuseum: https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/200564850

Price & Shipping:

AU$310 (approximately US$217.74 / €188.10/ £163.16), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in acquiring this superb engraving illustrating the biblical parable from Matthew 25:18—depicting the “neglectful” servant burying a stash of money, a “talent” worth the equivalent of 16 years of labour—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will gladly send you a PayPal invoice to make the purchase seamless.

This print has been sold

Nicolas Dorigny, “Evangelist St Mark with His Lion,” 1707, after Domenichino

Nicolas Dorigny (also known as Sir Nicolas Dorigny) (1658–1746)

“Evangelist St Mark with His Lion,” 1707 (inscribed in plate “1707,” but dated from 1702 by the French publisher, Mariette)

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with engraving on heavy laid paper, trimmed along or slightly within the platemark, and backed with a support sheet of tissue-thin (Kozo) washi paper. This print is from the series of four plates, “The Four Evangelists” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and the design is based on a fresco painting of the same composition executed between 1622 and 1627, decorating a pendentive in the Church of Sant' Andrea della Valle in Rome by Domenichino (aka Domenico Zampieri) (1581–1641). 

For a marvellous account and photographs of the series, see Simona Albanese’s blog: http://simonaalbanese.blogspot.com/2011/02/santandrea-della-valle-domenichinos.html. 

The lower edge of the print features a Latin dedication to Charles Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1654–1730), along with the coat-of-arms of the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. 

This is a strong and well-printed impression. Aside from a few pinholes and minor marks, the large etching remains in remarkably good condition for its age and size. 

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 62 x 45 cm
• Image borderline: 58.5 x 44.4 cm

Plate Lettering below the image borderline:

• (Left) “Dominicus Zampieri pinx. Romæ in Ædibus Diui Andreæ / Sup. perm. an. 1707”
• (Left of centre) “Sereniss.^mo Principi CAROLO / Humillime dedicat, et consecrate”
• (Right of centre) “Landgrauio Hassiæ &c. / Obseq. et addict. Seruus Nicolaus Dorigny”
• (Right) “N. Dorigny Gallus delin. et incid. Romæ cum priu. Sum Pont. et Reg. Chris.”

References:

• IFF 90–93 (Roger-Armand Weigert, Inventaire du Fonds Français: Graveurs du XVIIe Sièle: CHAUVEL–DUVIVIER, 1954, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, vol. 3, p. 500, nos. 90–93)— https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5489228q/f512.item
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1936-0810-34
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/762415

Price & Shipping:

AU$406 (approximately US$287.57 / €248.72/ £214.52), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you’re interested in acquiring this spectacular etching—exemplifying the uplifting spirit of the Baroque age, inspired by Domenichino’s fresco, depicting St Mark holding a tablet next to an angel with a lively group of putti and St Mark’s lion below—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

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