Newly acquired antique prints and maps or items of particular interest
Page 2
Antiphonal or Antiphonary volumes were used in church services where a singer or choir sang responsively to the cantor. These books made by hand by monks, were written on vellum or parchment, using a quill with a square point, and highlighted with red and blue inks (the red ink was popularly thought to be made from dragon's blood). The large format of many reflects the fact that these volumes were often shared among the singers. These beautiful volumes were made and used in Europe beginning ca. 500 CE, and continuing into the early 20th century in some areas.The notes look similar to modern printed music, but the staff often does not have five lines, and the notation is quadratic (square). The Latin text is often difficult for the modern reader to decipher, due to medieval lettering style and abbreviations. Large, fancily illuminated initial letters served a dual purpose: most obviously, beauty, as well as a way for the singers to find their place, especially in a dimly lit church setting.
After Benjamin West. "Christ Showing a Little Child as the Emblem of Heaven." London: Valentine Green, 21 June, 1807. 25 1/2 x 35 1/4. Mezzotint. Lovely and rich original hand color. Margins including title trimmed to image. Six inch tear into image from right hand side expertly repaired. Overall, very good condition. Helmut von Erffa and Allen Staley's The Paintings of Benjamin West (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1986), #325.
A stunning and beautifully executed engraving after a painting by Benjamin West. In total West painted five different versions based on this title. This print is after the first painting which was executed between 1790 and 1801. The oil was originally painted for Thomas Macklin in order to appear in an illustrated edition of the Bible.
In the bottom margin was inscribed a dedication to the governors and guardians of the Foundling Hospital and a quotation from Matthew 18: v. 2-5:
"And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."
This lush mezzotint was engraved by Valentine Green who is considered to be one of the finest English mezzotint portrait engravers. Green, who was an associate engraver to the Royal Academy and engraver to King George III, produced more than four hundred plates after paintings by Benjamin West, Joshua Reynolds and other well known painters. This print is very scarce and a major piece of study of Benjamin West's work.
A mezzotint is the inverse of the other intaglio processes, for the design is created working from black to white, rather than vice versa. A metal plate is worked using a rocker, which roughs the entire surface of the plate. If the plate were printed at this time, the image would be completely velvet black. Areas that are to appear in lighter tones or in white are smoothed out on the surface so that they will hold less ink. A mezzotint makes a very richly textured image, and it was particularly popular for portraits. Overall, the skills of the painter and engraver are superbly blended in this large and elegant print. $1,500
Charles Eastlake. "Christ Blessing Little Children." Philadelphia: Bradley & Co., 1861. 11 3/4 X 16 (image). Mezzotint engraving by Samuel Sartain. Minor staining and scuffing in margins not affecting image. Otherwise, very good condition.
This handsome image illustrates the New Testament story of Jesus explaining to his disciples that one must have the childlike innocence and acceptance of God in order to be welcomed into Heaven. Under the image are several lines of text from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament:
And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
Engraved by Samuel Sartain, the son of the famous printmaker John Sartain, this print is after Sir Charles Lock Eastlake's painting (1793-1865) made in 1839 which can be viewed today at the Manchester Art Gallery in England. $400
Randolph Caldecott. (1846-1886) "St. Valentine's Day." From The Graphic. London: February 13, 1875. 12 x 9. Chromolithograph. Very good condition.
This charming scene of cupid as a letter carrier, delivering Valentine's Day greetings to the girls and women in a household bursts with details, such as a decorative border filled with flowers, leaves, putti and lovebirds. The poem below the image adds further:
See, here comes the postman; we'll open the door,British artist Randolph Caldecott was best known for his children's illustrations, and is the namesake for the annually awarded Caldecott medal for outstanding illustrations in a children's book. Caldecott also illustrated travel books, drew cartoons and humorous drawings of the famous and fashionable, created and exhibited sculptures, as well as painted in oil and watercolors. Caldecott, an older child of a large family, left school at 15 and was apprenticed to a bank, in which industry he worked for a little over ten years, while also pursuing his artistic avocation. At the age of 26, having achieved some success selling illustrations, he quit the banking business, moved to London, and began to support himself entirely through his art work, quickly gaining popularity with his young audience through annual publications available at Christmastime. $145
And ask for our budget of letters, before
He touches the knocker; but, oh! he's so small,
He never can reach the knocker at all.
* * * * *
Why, who can he be? We are all of us stupid,
For this is none other than the little god CUPID.
First published in 1491 the Fasciculus Medicinæ, attributed to Johannes de Ketham, was the first printed medical book to include realistic illustrations: it contained ten woodcut images attributed to Gentile Bellini, or the school of Andrea Mantegna (Bellini's brother in law). These illustrations included veins for bloodletting, urinoscopic consultation, a pregnant woman, "wound man," Zodiac man, and dissection of a cadaver, among other subjects. In 1493 and later editions, the image of the pregnant woman was changed to a more attractive one, possibly because the original wood block had been damaged.
The volume was reprinted in Latin as well as translated into Italian for more than ten editions in the decade following its first publication. The text was actually a collection of late medieval medical texts that had been available previously in manuscript. It is thought that the attribution to de Ketham, a physician practicing in Venice in the late 15th century, was due to his having owned an early copy. Leonardo da Vinci was known to have owned two: one in Latin, the other in Italian.
Charles Fenderich. "Chev. Orozio de Attellis." [Orazio de Attellis Santangelo] Washington : C. Fenderich, 1843. 12 x 11. Lithograph by P.S. Duval, Philadelphia. Printed on India paper and mounted on original sheet with title and text. Left margin with short repaired tear and tiny hole. Otherwise, excellent condition.
Orazio de Attellis Santangelo (1774-1850), the last scion of a noble Italian family, became a soldier, political journalist and American patriot. As the Marquis of Sant'Angelo, he fought in several of the Napoleonic wars prior the restoration of the Bourbons. In 1824, he was forced to flee to the United States to escape arrest for his involvement in uprisings in Naples and Spain. He renounced his title and became an American citizen in 1828. His political activity continued, and because of his support for the Texans, Santangelo was first expelled from Mexico in 1826 and then again in 1835, after he had begun publishing a newspaper, El Correo Atlantico. Settling in New Orleans, Santangelo continued to issue the Correo, supporting Texas independence. In 1844 he published his The Texas Question, Reviewed by an Adopted Citizen. In 1847, Santangelo returned to Italy, where he remained embroiled in political affairs, up to his death in 1850. This print was drawn from life and lithographed by Charles Fenderich, a Swiss lithographer who had emigrated to Philadelphia in 1831. In Philadelphia, Fenderich issued a number of lithographs jointly with fellow Swiss artist J.C. Wild and also on his own until about 1837, at which time he moved to Washington, D.C. There Fenderich, realizing the opportunities afforded in the nation's capital, began to issue a series of fine lithographic portraits of, as he states in the title of his portfolio of prints, "Living American Statesman: embracing the Executive Officers of Government, Distinguished Members of Both Houses of Congress, and others of all Parties." These fine portraits were primarily based on his own life-drawings, for as his reputation spread, most of the political figures in Washington were delighted to sit for him. In all, Fenderich made about 84 portraits in Washington between 1837 and 1848, before he joined the California Gold Rush and finished his days as an artist on the west coast. Fenderich's portraits are not only beautifully made, but they provide us with excellent life-portraits of most of the important American statesmen of the third and fourth decades of the nineteenth century. $850
Gregor Reisch. "Typus Logicæ." From Margarita philosphica. Basel, 1536. Woodcut. Ca. 6 x 5. Very good condition.
Gregor Reisch's Margarita Philosophica (Pearl of Wisdom) was an compendium of contemporary knowledge and science intended for young students. It included twelve sections: grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy and astrology, natural philosophy, the origin of things, powers of animal sensation, powers of the animal intellect, and moral philosophy. First published in 1503, it went through a number of editions through the sixteenth century, becoming one of the most influential works of the early Renaissance. Reisch (1467-1525) was a monk and prior of the Carthusian monastery at Freiburg, the confessor of Emperor Maximilian I, and the teacher of John Eck and Martin Waldseemüller. His Margarita Philosophica was influential not only because of its learned and encyclopedic yet accessible textual information, but because it was accompanied by numerous, delightful woodcuts illustrating the text. This print concerns Logic, shown as a hunter (for truth?) chasing an allegorical hare, representing a "Pblenia" (problem), with his two dogs, "Veritas" (truth), and "Falsitas" (falsity). Various logical terms are engraved about the image. What is particularly interesting is that this version of this image is a crude copy of earlier versions. What is most noticeable is that most of the terms are printed backwards. The carver cut the terms front reading, meaning they printed the other way, so that it is quite difficult to figure out the various terms except by comparing them to an earlier version of the print. This does, however, lend a certain charm to the print, as evidence of human failings in the sixteenth century. $350
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