Auguste Feyen-Perrin, “Woman of the Woods”, 1873/5

Auguste Feyen-Perrin (also known as François-Nicolas-Augustin Feyen-Perrin) (1826–1888)
“Woman of the Woods” (Femme de bois), 1873/5

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on fine Chine collé, mounted on a support sheet of fine laid paper featuring a partial Arches watermark. This print is sheet number 13 from the portfolio series “Mythologische Darstellungen” (Mythological Representations). It was printed and published in Paris in January 1875 by Alfred Cadart (1828–1875) as plate number 274 for volume 7 of the influential art periodical “L’Illustration Nouvelle”.

This is a richly inked and well-printed—nearly faultless—impression with generously wide margins. The sheet is in near pristine condition, completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, handling marks, or stains.

Contextual Commentary:

While standard reference literature (Beraldi 13; IFF 8) lists this print as a single state, a rare, unlettered working trial proof exists in the British Museum collection. The British Museum copy was officially registered on May 10, 1873, demonstrating that Feyen-Perrin completed engraving the copper plate at least two years prior to its commercial distribution. This specific impression features the full, crisp plate lettering added subsequently for the formal 1875 portfolio publication by Cadart, marking it as the definitive published edition.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 46.8 x 31.2 cm
• Platemark: 23.9 x 15.8 cm
• Image borderline: 16.6 x 8.7 cm

Plate Lettering:

• Above the image: (left) “274.”
• Below the image: (left) “A. Feyen Perrin, del. et sc.”; (centre) “FEMME DES BOIS.”; (right) “A. Cadart, Edit. Imp. 56, B.ard Haussmann, Paris.”

References:

References:

• Beraldi 13 (Henri Beraldi, “Les Graveurs du Dix-Neuvième Siècle: DORÉ - GAVARD,” vol. VI, 1887, Paris, Librairie L. Conquet, p. 98, cat. no. 13)
• IFF 8 (Jean Adhémar & Jacques Lethève, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: Doré-Folk”, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département des Estampes, vol. 7, 1953, p. 544, cat. no. 8) — Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5489211f/f554.item
• British Museum: Museum Number 1873,0510.3354 — https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1873-0510-3354
• Kunsthalle Bremen: Inventory number 2022/5313 — https://bremen.museum-digital.de/object/19483  

Price & Shipping:

AU$229 (approximately US$161.61 / €144.95 / £121.29), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties are the buyer’s responsibility.

If you are interested in acquiring this eye-catching etching of a mythological woman of the woods, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Please note: To show the print's fine details as clearly as possible, the scan contrast has been digitally enhanced. Consequently, the image tones may not be a perfectly faithful representation of the subtleties of the print.

Michel Wolgemut, “City of Ravenna”, 1493

Michel Wolgemut (or Michael Wohlgemuth) (1434–1519) and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (c. 1458–1494)

Original Incunabula Leaf featuring the “City of Ravenna” (Lettered as “Kavenna”), 1493

Contextual Commentary:

This remarkable double-sided leaf is printed in Gothic type on heavy laid paper. It comes from page CXLII (142) of Hartmann Schedel’s “Nuremberg Chronicle”, published in Nuremberg by Anton Koberger on December 23, 1493.

The recto features a detailed woodcut view of Ravenna. The accompanying German text recounts the city’s history, from its importance as a Roman outpost to its role as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom under Theodoric the Great. It describes Ravenna’s strategic position among marshes and waterways, which made it difficult to besiege, and celebrates Theodoric’s building projects as well as the region’s religious heritage.

The verso features four woodcut portraits associated with successive early popes: St. Symmachus, St. Hormisdas, St. John I, and St. Felix IV. The text summarises events from their pontificates, including Symmachus’s building work in Rome and John I’s diplomatic mission to Constantinople.

About the Woodcuts

As was common in late 15th-century printing, the woodcuts are not intended as literal portraits or topographical views. The Koberger workshop reused the Ravenna block to represent other cities, including Troy, Pisa, and Toulouse, and reused portrait blocks for different historical figures throughout the Chronicle.

Technical Details & Condition

Original double-sided leaf with woodcuts and letterpress text on laid paper, with margins as issued.

The woodcuts and type are richly inked and sharply defined. The blocks show little visible wear, consistent with a crisp impression. The leaf is remarkably well preserved, with pale age toning, historic ink notes in the upper-right recto margin, and some discreet underlining. It is free of tears, holes, repairs, and distracting stains.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 40.9 x 28 cm
• “City of Ravenna” image borderline: 20.0 x 22.2 cm

References:

• British Museum, Nuremberg Chronicle, curator’s comments: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1870-1008-1938-1-136

Price & Shipping:

AU$426 (approximately US$299.60 / €269.31 / £225.33), including worldwide express shipping. Any applicable import duties and taxes are the buyer’s responsibility.

To enquire about this rare and substantial 1493 woodcut leaf from the incunabula period, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I’d be happy to arrange a secure purchase by PayPal invoice.

This print has been sold

Charles Jacque, “Vaches Hollandaises”, 1864/65

Charles Jacque (also known as Charles Émile Jacque) (1813–1894)

“Vaches Hollandaises” (Dutch Cows), 1864/65

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching on ivory laid paper with generously wide margins.

This is an exceptionally rare proof state, printed “avant la letter” (before the title and publisher's details were added to the lower margin) and before final drypoint adjustments.

Scholars note a historical variance regarding the total states of this plate: J.-J. Guiffrey's initial 1866 catalogue records the print in only two states, whereas the definitive modern Inventaire du Fonds Français (IFF, 1960) identifies a more complex lifecycle of five distinct states.

This is a richly inked, strong, crisp, and faultless (museum-quality) impression in pristine condition—completely free of tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains, or signs of handling.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 30.5 x 38.9 cm
• Platemark: 15.8 x 24.7 cm
• Image borderline: 10.9 x 18.1 cm

In-Plate lettering:

• Upper-right corner: “Ch. Jacque.”

References:

• Guiffrey 193 (J.-J. Guiffrey, “L’Œuvre de Ch. Jacque: Catalogue de ses Eaux-Fortes et Pointes-Sèches”, 1866, Paris, Mlle Lemaire, p. 95, cat. no. 193)
• IFF 296 (Jean Adhémar & Jacques Lethève, “Inventaire du Fonds Français après 1800: HUMBLOT–JYG,” vol. 11, 1960, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, p. 115, cat. no. 296) — Available via Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5489301d/f127.image    
• British Museum: Museum Number 1889,0608.223 — https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1889-0608-223

Price & Shipping:

AU$264 (approximately US$185.33/ €165.96 / £139.04, subject to daily exchange rates). Price includes worldwide express shipping. Please note that destination import duties and local taxes remain the sole responsibility of the buyer.

If you are interested in acquiring this rare proof-state etching by a central figure of the Barbizon School, please contact me directly at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. Secure payment is handled via PayPal invoice for a smooth, protected transaction.

Please note: To show the print's fine details as clearly as possible, the scan contrast has been digitally enhanced. Consequently, the image tones may not be a perfectly faithful representation of the subtilties of the print.