Estampes

Estampes — marelibri

Myriorama. A collection of many thousand landscapes [...]. London, Samuel Leigh, 1824.

8vo. 16 numbered hand-coloured aquatint panels (70 x 200 mm). With 2 sheets of publisher's advertisements. In original cardboard box (163 x 223 mm) with mounted hand-coloured aquatint title-page engraved by Sidney Hall. Curious art toy created by the London bookseller Samuel Leigh, featuring aquatint panels by the noted landscape and battle artist John Heaviside Clark (1771-1863), depicting idealized English and Scottish scenery, including ruins, lakes, and mountains. - A "myriorama", a term derived from the Greek words "myrias", meaning "multitude", and "orama", meaning "scene" or "view", comprised a set of illustrated cards, each representing a slice of a landscape. No matter what order you placed them in, the cards created a cohesive scene. The near-endless possibilities made it a popular entertainment for people of all ages. After the success of the first myriorama, designed by Jean-Pierre Brès in France, the toy took off across Europe from the 1820s, sparking imitations in Austria, England, Germany, and the Netherlands. Leigh and Clark adopted the name and the design of the box that housed the cards from the original French version, in hopes of inspiring other artists to draw attractive landscapes. Their myriorama also introduced the innovation of numbering each panel, making it possible to record and later recreate scenes found especially pleasing. Myrioramas provided dynamic visual entertainment at a time when the advent of cinema was still decades away. With their incredible number of possible combinations and charming visuals, myrioramas were "one of the most diversified and exhaustless inventions for variety and pleasing amusement that has hitherto appeared", according to the London's Morning Chronicle at the time. - The present 16-card myriorama can be arranged into an astounding 20,922,789,888,000 (that's 20 trillion!) different scenes. Later myrioramas with larger sets of cards could provide an unfathomable number of permutations, reaching well beyond our standard naming conventions. - Pencil ownership of Isabella Hord to the inside of upper cover. Box somewhat rubbed at extremities; corners lightly bumped; some brownstaining. The panels very well preserved. A copy is held at the Huntington Library in California. A charming item rarely seen at auction.

Inlibris · Austria3500,00 €

Thám, Géza, Hungarian artist (fl. 1917).MareMagnum

Vázlatok a Hadifogságból. Sketches From the Prison of War. Piestschanka. POW camp Peschanka, near Chita, Siberia, ca. 1916-1917.

14 mounted plates in pencil, ink and colour wash, 2 of which are stuck to the outsides of the portfolio's protective boards with cloth ties. Various sizes, but mostly ca. 170 x 130 mm. Signed and captioned in English and Hungarian. Rare survival of a collection of sketches from the Russian POW camp in Peschanka, Siberia, all executed by an evidently accomplished, otherwise undocumented Hungarian artist (and soldier in the Austro-Hungarian army) who captured the conditions in and around the camp during the later years of the First World War. Thám's caricature-like style is marked by clear, precise outlines reminiscent of the contemporaneous work of Olaf Gulbransson and Eduard Thöny. The two larger sketches on the cover boards (measuring ca. 170 x 220 mm) show self-portraits of the artist, at work at oil paintings (one a landscape, the other a nude). The leaves within show prisoners climbing the bunk bed or resting in their crowded cots, marching through a snowed-in camp carrying heavy buckets, playing chess, etc.; some are captioned "Coming from the American Y.M.C.A. Kitchen", "The Red Cross library", or even show ladies in fur coats with an officer "at the exhibition", while a few others have Easter Greetings themes. - Peschanka is near Chita in the Transbaikalia region, on the Trans-Siberian Railway, 6035 kilometres from Moscow. While during the Great War conditions in the POW camps on the whole were vastly superior to those during WWII, thanks to the efforts of the Red Cross and inspectors from neutral countries, the situation in the Siberian camps was notoriously poor, and as many as a quarter of the 2.1 million Austro-Hungarian soldiers whom Russia held as prisoners of war did not survive. - Browned due to paper, with occasional edge flaws, but well preserved.

Inlibris · Austria3500,00 €

Joan of Arc Prints ArchiveBiblio.com

Joan of Arc Original Prints Archive Illustrating Her Military Leadership Cross-Dressing Trial and Imprisonment 18th-19th Century Engravings

1700rif. 229131700. Cross-DressingWomen Military Joan of Arc engraving archive depicting the French military leader and martyr Jeanne d'Arc in iconic images of battle persecution and faith ca. 1770-1850s. The prints focus on Joan's leadership during the Hundred Years' War and on the gender-bending aspects of her identity and dress that contributed to her 1431 trial for heresy. Particular attention is given to her appearance in armor while directing troops or appearing before political authorities. These visual depictions emphasize Joan's adoption of male military clothing an attribute which has lead modern scholars of LGBTQ history to celebrate the saint as a queer and proto-transgender figure. Archive of eight engravings and proof impressions executed primarily in copperplate and steel engraving processes during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The images depict several key episodes associated with Joan of Arc's historical narrative including portraits showing her wearing armor and holding a sword scenes of military command in which she appears mounted or directing troops and representations of her recognition by Charles VII and entry into the city of Orléans. A prison scene portrays Joan during captivity prior to her execution in 1431 emphasizing the moment when her continued cross-dressing became a major point of contention during her heresy trial. Several engravings were produced for historical publications and illustrated histories circulating in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries including editions associated with François Guizot's History of France reflecting the renewed interest in Joan of Arc as a figure of national history. Archives includes: 1 Engraved for J. Sydney's History of England. The Maid of Orleans Receiving the Sword of St. Catherine. England c.1770-1820. A fine copper engraving framed within an elaborate Rococo border showing Joan receiving the sacred sword of St. Catherine an episode derived from medieval hagiography rather than strict historical documentation. Joan is mounted on horseback surrounded by armed men and clergy with a fortified tower rising behind her. The ornamental border and English publication context reveal the 18th-century Protestant fascination with Joan as a paradoxical figure: a warrior-prophetess both admired and viewed with suspicion. 2 Anonymous Artist. Va va fille de Dieu; délivre la France! Vision Scene. France c.1820-1850. A preparatory hand panciled engraving proof depicting Joan of Arc's divine revelation framed within penciled border guidelines. An angel descends from the clouds carrying a banner while pointing downward toward Joan who kneels in astonishment as cherubs hover above. The inscription "VA VA / FILLE DE DIEU / DELIVRE LA FRANCE!" anchors the scene as an allegory of Joan's heavenly mandate. 3 Henry Richter after. Joan of Arc Recognizes the King. London: The London Printing and Publishing Co. mid-19th century. A steel engraving portraying Joan's revelation of Charles VII at Chinon the pivotal moment when she identifies him despite his attempt at disguise. The richly detailed crowd scene and Gothic architectural setting emphasize both spectacle and legitimacy visualizing Joan as divinely guided rather than politically manipulated. 4 G. Greatbach engraver; after a painting by J. Opie R.A. Joan of Arc Declaring Her Mission. London: The London Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd. mid-19th century. Joan is shown making a dramatic gesture as she proclaims her mission before astounded soldiers and clergy. The engraving captures the tension between gender expectations and prophetic authority: Joan's outstretched arm determined expression and illuminated figure contrast with the skeptical figures behind her. 5 E. Scriven engraver. Joan D'Arc. London: H. Moore Sons & Co. mid-19th century.An engraving presenting a romanticized half-length portrait of Joan of Arc in armor holding a sword upright while gazing serenely into the distance. Behind her appear faint bystanders rendering her both an individual and an emblem of national deliverance. 6 Entry of Joan of Arc into Orléans. From Guizot's History of France. Paris/London c.1840s. A sweeping steel engraving of Joan riding triumphantly into Orléans accompanied by monks soldiers and citizens. The composition foregrounds her as a mounted military leader sword raised while crowds kneel and look upward in awe. Johannot's design visualizes Joan as a unifying national leader. 7 G. Stodart engraver; after H. E. Selous. Joan of Arc and Charles. London: Virtue & Co. mid-19th century.A dramatic steel engraving showing Joan standing beside Charles VII directing his attention toward the field of battle. The caption references their military collaboration. The interplay of armor banners and a stormy sky underscores Joan'smilitary might. 8 T. Brown engraver; after E. Corbould. Joan of Arc in Prison. London: The London Printing and Publishing Co. mid-19th century. A somber interior scene depicting Joan in captivity clasping her hands as guards and clergy surround her. Corbould emphasizes her steadfastness and the emotional gravity of her final days. Produced for an illustrated royal history King Henry the Sixth the image cast Joan as a martyr of conscience. In recent decades scholars in LGBTQ history and gender studies have increasingly examined Joan of Arc as a proto-queer icon who challenged traditional ideas of gender identity and expression. Medieval trial records document that Joan consistently wore male military clothing during her campaigns and continued to wear such clothing during imprisonment a choice that became a central accusation in the charges brought against her in 1431. Some historians and queer theorists have interpreted Joan's refusal to abandon male dress even under threat of execution as evidence of a personal gender identity that did not conform to contemporary expectations for women. Joan of Arc has been cited as an example in Medieval history of an individual navigating queer identity long before the modern understanding of terms like trans non-binary or genderfluid. Light toning and mild foxing to some edgewear and staining present to some margins. Prints are clear and paper crisp. Overall very good condition. A compelling and diverse archive of eight Joan of Arc engravings and artistic proofs representing two centuries of European historical illustration and devotional imagery. The collection captures Joan's transformation from medieval visionary to modern nationalist and feminist icon. unknown