24th ILAB International Antiquarian Book Fair - Vereinigung der ...

The rare first Dutch edition signed and coloured by
the author Jacques de Gheyn. The finest and one of
only a few coloured copies of the Waffenhandlinghe
showing all the actions and movements of soldiers
handling the caliver (or harquebus), the musket
and the pike.This manual was written according
to the drill developed in the late sixteenth century
by Johann II, Count of Nassau-Siegen (1561–1623)
and introduced in the Dutch Army by his cousin
Maurits, Prince of Orange (1567–1625).
Merian, Matthaeus. Todten-Tantz, wie
derselbe in der löblichen und weit-berühmten
Stadt Basel, als ein Spiegel menschlicher Beschaffenheit…
Frankfurt, Joh. B. Andrea and
H. Hort, 1725, 4to, Contemporary mottled calf
gilt, hinges repaired, title within hand-coloured
engraved allegorical border, with 42 full-page
contemporary hand-coloured engraved illustrations
of the Dance of Death, all but 2 with
additional contemporary watercolour and wash
architectural or decorative borders, one uncoloured
engraved plate. CHF 18 000.–
An Extraordinary Coloured Copy of the famous
‹Dance of Death›. The Dance of Death series display
a very quick and lively skeleton leading someone
away in a dance step. The partner’s social station
is instantly recognizable, but death is indifferent
to rank: the death figure is just as cheerful leading
off the Queen or the Pope as the Merchant or the
Beggar. While the conventions may have originated
in Medieval Pageants, their popularity grew and
flourished in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Basel in Switzerland hosted a thriving printing
industry, and the Dance of Death series painted
in fresco in the 15 th century on the walls of the
Predigerkirche influenced several printed editions,
notably Holbein’s.
Bruce Marshall Rare Books 85