Hans Rudolf Manuel (Deutsch), “William Tell Shooting the Apple”, 1552

Hans Rudolf Manuel (Deutsch) (also known as Hans Rudolf Manuel, with monograms “HRMD,” “RMD,” and “RM”) (1525–1571)
“William Tell Shooting the Apple,” 1552

Technical Details & Condition:

Woodcut on fine laid paper with letterpress text recto and verso of a leaf (pages 361 and 362) from the Latin edition of the renowned “Cosmographia” by Sebastian Münster (1488–1552), published and printed in Basel by Heinrich Petri (fl. circa 1527–1577) in 1552. Münster’s “Cosmographia” was one of the most successful and influential books of the 16th century, offering the first detailed descriptions of the world, complete with maps and cultural explorations (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmographia_(Sebastian_M%C3%BCnster)).

The impression is strong, showing no sign of wear to the printing plate, suggesting that this is an early impression. Aside from minor age toning to the edges and a worm-hole in the lower left margin, the sheet is in excellent condition with no tears, folds, abrasions, or significant stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 29 x 18.4 cm
• Image borderline: 13 x 14.2 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Artist’s ligature monogram on stone at lower left: “HRMD”

References:

• TIB 19.25 (Jane S Peters  [ed.], The Illustrated Bartsch: German Masters of the Sixteenth Century: Hans Rudolf Manuel [Deutsch], Tobias Stimmer, 1988, vol. 19 [Part 2], New York, Abaris Books, p. 40, cat. no. 25 [329])
• Bartsch IX.329.25
• New Hollstein (German) 151
• The British Museum describes this print: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1850-1014-965

Price & Shipping:

AU$288 (approximately US$192.44 / €164.6 / £143.26), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you wish to acquire this spectacular woodcut depicting the legendary Swiss patriot, William Tell, aiming to shoot an apple placed on his son's head—a perilous act demanded by the Austrian bailiff, Gessler, for refusing to remove his hat before Gessler—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will be happy to send a PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

Théodule Ribot, “Portrait of Alfred Cadart”, 1864

Théodule Ribot (also known as Augustin Théodule Ribot) (1823–1891)
“Portrait of Alfred Cadart” (or “M. A. Cadart, Fondateur de la Société des Aqua-Fortistes”), 1864

Alfred Cadart (1828–1875) was a renowned printmaker and publisher. Alongside Auguste Delâtre (also known as Auguste Marie Delâtre) (1822–1907), Cadart co-founded the Société des Aqua-Fortistes (Society of Etchers) in 1861, with the aim of revitalising interest in the art of etching, which was then experiencing a period of decline. He also launched the influential art journal “L'Illustration Nouvelle” in 1868.

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with plate tone on fine laid paper with generously wide margins. It is plate 99, printed by Auguste Delâtre and published by Cadart & Luquet (fl. 1863–1867) in Paris for the Société des Aqua-Fortistes, in the publication “Eaux-Fortes Modernes” (1863–1864), volume 2. The impression is richly inked and well-printed (near faultless). The sheet is in pristine condition—free from tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 45.9 x 32.9 cm
• Platemark: 30.7 x 23.8 cm
• Image borderline: 8.7 x 11 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Above the image borderline (right): “99.”
• Within the image borderline (lower left): “t Ribot”
• Below the image borderline (left): “Ribot sculp.”
• Below the image borderline: (centre) “M. A. CADART, / Fondateur de la Société des Aqua-Fortistes. / Paris, Publié par CADART & LUQUET, Editeurs, 79, Rue Richelieu.”
• Below the image borderline: (right) “Imp. Delâtre, Rue St, Jacques, 303, Paris.”

References:

• Gallica [BNF] offers an online view of this print within its publication context: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8470013m/f48.item
• The British Museum provides a description of this print prior to lettering: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1872-0113-513

Price & Shipping:

AU$232 (approximately US$155.34 / €143.93 / £115.41), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you wish to acquire a strikingly powerful etched portrait, where the crossed arrangement of vertical and horizontal lines alludes to the artist’s analytical mindset during the “finding” of his subject amidst the dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will be happy to send a PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold

Jean Cousin, “Funerary Procession of Indigenous Brazilians”, 1558

Attributed to, or from the circle of, Jean Cousin the Younger (c. 1525–c. 1595), and/or Jean Goujon (c. 1510–c. 1565/68), and/or Germain Pilon (1535–1590) (see attribution offered by Christie’s Auctions: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5909342)

“Funerary Procession of Indigenous Brazilians” (descriptive title only), 1558

Technical Details & Condition:

This rare wood-engraving is executed on fine laid paper, trimmed around the image borderline, and backed with a support sheet of archival quality washi paper. It was published in Paris in 1558 by Maurice de La Porte (II) (1490–1558) as an illustration on page 83 of André Thevet’s (1502/16–1590) Les Singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nommée Amérique: & de plusieurs terres & isles decouvertes de nostre temps. This work chronicles early European observations of the New World and its inhabitants.

The impression is strong and near faultless, with the sheet in pristine condition—free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 8.9 x 11.2 cm
• Image borderline: 8.7 x 11 cm

References:

Archive.org offers an online view of this print along with its contextual background in the publication: https://archive.org/details/DELTA54095RES/page/n191/mode/2up.

To give a flavour of the accompanying text describing this detailed wood-engraving, here is an extract (translated):
“The children of the deceased, after a month, will invite their friends to hold some feast and solemnity in his honour. And there they will gather people of various colours, plumage, and other attire in their own style, performing a thousand … ceremonies. I will mention in this place certain birds in this regard, having a similar cry and voice to that of an owl of this country, drawn upon the mournful one: which these Savages hold in such great reverence that one would not dare touch them, saying that by this mournful song these birds weep for the death of their friends: which makes them remember them.” (p. 83)

Price & Shipping:

AU$247 (approximately US$165.38 / €141.07 / £122.84), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you wish to acquire this extraordinary wood-engraving—an early depiction of indigenous Americans, executed during Michelangelo’s lifetime—please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will be happy to send a PayPal invoice for a seamless purchase.

This print has been sold 

Stefano della Bella, “Seated Monkey Facing Right”, c. 1641

Stefano della Bella (1610–1664)

“Seated Monkey Facing Right”, circa 1641

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine laid paper, with a narrow margin around the platemark. The impression is strong and well-printed—a near faultless lifetime impression (based on the quality of the line showing no sign of wear to the printing plate). The sheet is in excellent condition, free from tears, holes, folds, abrasions, or significant stains. This is plate 3 from the series of twenty-five plates (including the title plate), “Diversi Animali” (Various Animals). It is an impression from state iii (of iii), with the publisher’s details for Pierre Mariette I (c. 1603–1657) erased from the former state.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 8.4 x 10.6 cm
• Plate mark: 8 x 10.4 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Lower left: “3 Stef. della Bella fecit”
• Lower centre: “Cum priuilegio”

References:

• De Vesme/Massar 692 (Alexandre de Vesme, revised by Phyllis Dearborn Massar, 1971, Stefano della Bella: Catalogue Raisonné, New York, Collectors Editions, [text] p. 111, cat. no. 692, [ill.] p. 133).
• The British Museum describes this print in its second state: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1877-0811-572].

Price & Shipping:

AU$266 (approximately US$178.15 / €151.59/ £132.28), including worldwide express shipping. Please note: Import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this finely rendered etching of a monkey in profile with two other monkeys in the distance, 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