Dies, Albert Christoph, Johann Christian Reinhart, and Jakob Wilhelm Mechua | The pinnacle of German print making in the age of Goethe

Dies, Albert Christoph, Johann Christian Reinhart, and Jakob Wilhelm Mechua 

Mahlerisch-Radirte Prospecte von Italien. Nuremberg: Johann Friedrich Frauenholz, 1792-98

12 parts in one, oblong broadsheets (365 x 462 mm). 72 etched plates by Dies, Reinhart and Mechau; some occasional marginal spotting, generally not affecting plate. Contemporary half calf and marbled paper-covered boards, original printed blue wrappers bound in; rebacked, corners renewed, rubbed with some minor loss. 

First edition — the Vershbow copy. 

Dies, Reinhart, and Mechua each contributed 24 views to this striking work. The collection includes 16 views of Rome, with many of the other 56 views depicting—likely for the first time—areas such as Subiaco, Terni and Civita Castellana, as well as the environs of Tivoli and Subiaco. The attention to botanical, geological, meteorological and topographical detail reflects the growing interest in these subjects. A French edition titled Collection de vues pittoresques de l'Italie: dessinées d'après nature, et gravées l'eau forte à Rome, par trois peintres allemands... was published in 1799. Johannn Friedrich Frauenholz was a publisher, collector, and one of the most important German art dealers of his time. He corresponded with many artists and authors, including Goethe and Schiller.

The present work is very rare, and according to American Book Prices Current, this is the only complete copy to have appeared at auction in nearly half a century.

The pinnacle of German print making in the age of Goethe.

REFERENCE:

Lanckoronska/Oehler Die Buchillustration des 18. Jahrhundreds in Deutschland II,35; Brunet III:703 (2nd edition); see Kippenberg 4795; Thieme/Becker IX, 248 (Dies); XXIV, 323 (Mechau); XXVIII, 125f. (Reinhart)

PROVENANCE:

Acquired from Ars Libri, 1987 — Arthur and Charlotte Vershbow, their sale, Christie's New York, 28 Oct 2013, lot 774