Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Monday, 8 December 2025

Matthaeus Merian, “Native Americans Hunting Deer: Bow and Arrow, Flames, and the Sea”, 1655

Matthaeus Merian (also known as Matthäus Merian I) (1593–1650), or possibly Theodoor de Bry (aka Théodore de Bry, Dietrich de Bry, and Dirk de Bry) (1528–1598)

“Native Americans Hunting Deer: Bow and Arrow, Flames, and the Sea”, 1655

For those wondering about the depiction of a man laying fish in the field on the lower right of the scene, the German text explains (in translation):
“When the soil is very meagre, they [the local inhabitants] fertilise it and make it fertile again with fish, which they guard for 14 nights and days so that the wolves do not come and carry away such fish unspoiled.”

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine laid paper with full margins and German letterpress text on recto and verso. This original book-leaf was published in Frankfurt am Main in 1655 by the Merian heirs within Johann Ludwig Gottfried’s “Newe Welt und Americanische Historien”. The etching appears on page numbered 157, and bears the title “Von Natur vnd Eygenfchafft der Newen Welt” (“Of the Nature and Property of the New World”).
See: https://archive.org/details/neweweltvndameri00gott/page/197/mode/1up

The etching is a strong, well-printed impression, showing no signs of wear to the printing plate. Aside from a small dot stain at the lower left, the sheet is in excellent condition—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

Sheet: 30.8 x 19.5 cm
Platemark: 15.1 x 17.7 cm
Inner image borderline: 14.8 x 17.3 cm

Price & Shipping:

AU$251 (approximately US$166.58 / €142.99 / £124.97), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this historically important and visually compelling etching documenting how native Americans hunted deer, 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