BibliOdyssey

The Sun-Birds

2012-05-20T05:10:00.007+10:00

"I believe that my first attraction towards the family of Sun-birds took place in Nubia, where I fell in with Hedydipna metallica, the first truly tropical form of bird that I had ever procured.

The sense of pleasure with which I preserved my first specimens of this beautiful little species on the banks of the Nile above the First cataract, and the engaging habits of the species, impressed me so much, that on subsequent visits to the African continent I paid especial attention to the Sun-birds in each country I visited." [link]
[from the Introduction to 'A Monograph of the Nectariniidae' by Captain GE Shelley]

[W]: "The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera.

The family is distributed throughout Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar because of their shape, are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings.

The sunbirds have counterparts in two very distantly related groups: the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to convergent evolution brought about by a similar nectar-feeding lifestyle. Some sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed."

Sun-birds (Nectariniidae) information, photos and videos at the Internet Bird Collection - "a non-profit endeavour with the ultimate goal of disseminating knowledge about the world's avifauna."

George Ernest Shelley (1840-1910) was a geologist, ornithologist, nephew of the renowned poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley^ and author of a number of books on African birds.

Of particular note was an unfinished 5-volume series covering all the birds of Africa^ which was cut short when the author suffered a stroke towards the end of his life. Regrettably, a stand-in author, tasked by Shelley's wife to supply at least another three volumes to complete the series, for whatever reason, only managed to polish up Shelley's final book and he went no further with the project.

It was Shelley's (and our) good fortune that he was able to collaborate on the Sun-birds book with the excellent Dutch artist and naturalist, John Gerrard Keulemans (1842-1912). Keulemans had begun his career as a taxidermist for the Leiden Museum of Natural History and its director encouraged him to accompany a 2-year expedition to Africa in the mid-1860s as a kind of artist-scientist.

Our author, GE Shelley, obviously had sufficient regard for his illustrator's journal notes from the African trip, as he relied upon them as a source when writing the Sun-birds book. (in fact, Shelley acknowledged Keulemans' artistic and scientific reporting qualities in a glowing reference to the illustrator in the book's introduction)

More than 120 lithographs were prepared by Keulemans for the collaborative project on Sun-birds which consisted of twelve instalments being issued over a four year period to a mere 250 subscribers. No wonder a first edition copy of the bound book was sold in recent times for around $11,000.

The lithographic illustrations - printed by M&N Hanart - were hand-coloured and finished with gum arabic highlighting to a limited range of precise locations in the feather arrangements.

"Keulemans paid particular attention to colour and structure of feathering and his ability to transmit clear, accurate impressions of various plumages was held in much esteem. Overall, his skills for accurate representations are attributable to his detailed study of birds." [source]

The quality of the plates from 'The Monograph of the Nectariniidae..' (also known by its original working title of 'Monograph of the Cinnyridae..') brought Keulemans instant acclaim, early in a very notable book illustration career. He moved to England and became the leading ornithological artist of the late-Victorian era, contributing illustrations to a number of significant book and journal publications on birds.

The illustrations seen here from 'A Monograph of the Nectariniidae, or, Family of Sun-birds' by GE Shelley and JG Keulemans (1876-1880) come courtesy of this Flickr set, uploaded by the most fabulous and collaborative, multi-institutional Biodiversity Heritage Library. Click on any of the images above to access much larger image files on Flickr.
The Sun-birds book at the Biodiversity Heritage Library. {bibliographic record}.
The Sun-birds book at the Internet Archive.
Most of the information in this blog entry derives from three sources: AbeBooks, Antiquariaat Junk and a number of Christie's auction records.
Works by Shelley: Amazon & Archive.org.
Works by Keulemans: Amazon & Archive.org.
Just in passing, I noted that one reference in particular is quoted all over the place and I presume it is the authority on ornithological publications: 'Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library' by JT Zimmer (1996 edition) -- (1926).
'Feathers to Brush the Victorian Bird Artist John Gerrard Keulemans 1842-1912' (1982) by Jan Coldewey (limited edition biography)

Marine East Asia

2012-05-15T23:45:00.004+10:00

The Chinese Fish Collection is a large set of 19th century watercolour sketches depicting species from the waterways and seas of China and Japan.

The illustrations range from the absurd to the accurate and the selection below skews intentionally towards the former. The captions are all taken from the source site.

Exocoetus evolans L [= Exocoetus volitans Linnaeus, 1758

Crayracion hispidus Blkr [= Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758)]

Duymeria aurigaria Blkr [= Pteragogus aurigarius (Richardson, 1845)]

Platophrys (Platophrys) pavo blkr [= Rhombus pavo Bleeker, 1855]

Carrasius auratus [Carrasius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)]

inktvis Euprimna morsei (Verrill, 1881)

Uranoscopus asper Schl [Uranoscopus asper Temminck & Schlegel, 1843]

Hemipteronotus pentadactylus (punctulatus)

[= Novacula pentadactylus Valenciennes in C&V, 1840

Mastacembelus fasciatus [= Ablennes hians (Valenciennes, 1846)]

Blennius ocellaris L. [qstnmrk] [Blennius ocellaris Linnaeus, 1758]

Tetraodon ocellatus Osb [Tetraodon ocellatus Linnaeus, 1758]

(= bimaculatus Rich.) [Tetraodon bimaculatus Richardson, 1845]

Uranoscopus guttatus Cuv[qstnmrk] [Uranoscopus guttatus Cuvier in C&V, 1829] fig. artificialis

Antennarius marmoratus Gunth [Chironectes marmoratus Lesson (ex Cuvier), 1831]

Pseudoscarus pyrrostethus Blkr [= Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775]

Trichidion [vrgtkn][vrgtkn] fasciatum Blkr [unknown name]

Trachicephalus uranoscopus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) - (fig artifice)

Holland's Groningen University plays host to a unique collection of 19th century watercolour sketches produced somewhere, some time, in the far east of Asia. Two boxes, containing more than 450 drawings, were bequeathed to the University's Natural History Department in about 1870 via the estate of the former Dutch consul in Canton, MJ Senn van Basel (d. 1863).

There is little in the way of background information online relating to this collection (story of this blog's life). It's not known whether the set was commissioned or purchased by van Basel and there's no indication as to the name(s) or origin(s) of the artist(s) involved.

Pencilled notations of the Latin name(?) of the species and what is likely the surname of the person who first described the animal - (eg. Cuvier or Linnaeus etc) - appear on all the sketches, as well as the less formal species names written in Chinese characters. It's quite possible both sets of handwriting were later additions.

But the charm of the series really derives from the stylised and amusing, near-anthropomorphic, representations and vivid colours of the marine animals, rather than in the degree of scientific accuracy. While there was some active prejudice in the selection of the examples above, the bizarre and absurd types certainly outnumber the regular, run of the mill sketches in the collection, that's for sure. And thankful we all are too!

'Afbeeldingen van Chinese vissen, HS 433' is online at the Groningen University Library and consists of more than 450 digitised marine animal sketches. An icon near the zoom slider brings up a thumbnail image page, but be warned: it's like one of those old 'wheel-spinning' Java applets and it killed my (G-Chrome) browser a couple of times, so the thumbnail page was actually less than useless for me; paging through the sketches ended up being easier and more productive.
The Groningen Library special collections blog, 'The World of Books'^[T], provided a dedicated blog post in 2008 about the series [Trans.].
The Groningen Library catalogue entry.
Previously: science and marine and fauna --> related summary bookmarks for this here BibliOdyssey blog.

Rise of the Living Type

2012-05-10T03:18:00.002+10:00

Stylised 17th century floriated letterforms

grotesque mask sprinkles

Baroque absurdities or genius ornamental typeforms? Take your pick.

The prints above and below were designed in the mid-1600s by the Polish goldsmith, Jan (or Johann) Christian Bierpfaff (1600-?1690). He apprenticed with the Mackensen family of metalworkers in Cracow who introduced the Dutch auricular ('shell or ear-like')^ style of ornament into the Polish gold and silver workshops.

Biefpfaff's organic alphabet (dedicated to the patriarch of the Mackensen clan) blends the newly discovered shell patterns with grotesque botanical styling to produce extraordinary, abstracted figures in which the ornament itself comes to life. These are wonderful and astonishing print designs to my way of thinking. In fact, I'd go even further and suggest that the first image right up the top - the 'A' - is just about the most ingenious piece of printed artwork that that has ever been featured on this site.

The design is whimsical, imaginative and exquisite, all while being restrained within the confines of a recognisable alphabetical form. We see and feel dynamic, emergent shapes of plant and monster life-forms. Glance away and the appearance might change. It is a remarkably 'fluid' perspective. And a bizarre, autonomous child-form stands alongside its presumptive mother; the artist is no longer required. We have achieved self-replicating ornament. Now that's what I call proto-surrealism.

Although the background information online seems a little ambiguous as to publication dates, I believe the series above (released as a suite of 20+ prints called: 'Libellus Novus Elementorum Latinorum..') was the first appearance of Bierpfaff's innovative designs. His fellow-countryman, Jeremias Falck (a renowned artist in his own right), engraved the suite, and it's worth clicking through to see them in a larger format.

The image series below appears to be absolutely identical to the Falck engravings, except for the addition of grotesque masks and similar, odd accoutrements (as well as the text in the title page cartouche). This second suite of prints was engraved by the Strasbourg artist, Peter Aubry.

An incomplete series of alphabet prints (above) from 'Libellus Novus Elementorum Latinorum' can be found at the Rijksmuseum website. Strangely, I could only find the images via a google image search using Bierpfaff's name {they didn't even turn up searching through the museum site itself for reasons that escape me; some local search poltergeist I assume ---- I can't even find them all now as I'm about to post this entry, so I don't know what I did to find them last week!}
The majority of images below come from The Art Institute of Chicago and, although modestly sized, I think the collection is approximately complete.
The two images with double letters each came from MAK^ via Ornamental Prints Online ("Bierpfaff")
Short bio on Bierpfaff.
Jeremias Falck at Wikipedia.
Previously: a few Falck prints appear in Grab Bag.
Previously: the general bookmark of calligraphy.
Follow along at Twitter. I'm also using Pinboard for blog summaries AND significant collection bookmarks, in addition to the regular tagged summaries on Delicious.
LATER: Actually, one very relevant post from late 2011deserves linking here: Satyr Taxis features another (amazing/extraordinary) collection of prints - this time from the 16th century - in which the ornament came to life.

The Bookplate Collection

2012-04-30T00:48:00.009+10:00

The Ex Libris (bookplate) illustrations below were selected from the first half of the enormous John Starr Stewart Collection at the University of Illinois. Will from 50Watts sampled the back half of the same database: [The Bookplate Collection: Second Half].

George Clulow (undated)

"Against starry sky, bare-breasted Egyptian goddess wearing ankh pendant and holding sheaf and quill; ouroboros (snake with its tail in its mouth) surrounded open book with owner's initials, book press and ink balls. Motto on banner: Lux in tenebris (Light in the shadows)"

Carolta Campins - bookplate by Joaquim Renart, 1904

"Tree eradicated (showing roots) with shield upon which is a lyre."

Denver Athletic Club Library - bookplate by Leota Woy, 1904

"Within triangular space, bald man in waistcoat and checkered pants

reads a book; below, a man runs with football, 'DAC' on his jersey."

Henrietta Jane Adeane - bookplate by Harry Soane, 1883

"Printed in black and red. Within a picture frame, a lozenge escutcheon: vert (green) a chevron or (gold) charged with 3 mullets (stars) sable (black), between three griffin's heads erased or (gold). Banner with originator's name"

Robert Barclay - armorial (undated)

"Crest: a dove with an olive branch in its
mouth, perched on a straight wreath.
Motto: Cedant arma = Let military power give way"

Barry H Jones (undated)

"Oil lamp, crossed quills, decorative border."

Arthur Wellington Clarke (1898)

**Who Borrow Books and Soon Restore

May Come Again and Borrow More**

"Armorial crowned eagle rising erased, above ledge

with books, scroll, ink pot and quill, microscope"

Mary Alice Ercolini - bookplate by SE Blake (undated)

"Japanese ukiyo'e scene with three women in a room.

Vignette lower left.

Note: Discolored by collector's glue."

F Bargallo - bookplate by André Henry(1895)

"Cipher: FB; books, music, portfolio of fashion plates; flower; snake and cup; Motto: Omnis homo mendax = Every man is a liar; In malis venenum, in mediocribus somnus, in egregiis solamen."

Georges Goury - bookplate by Georges Demeufe (undated)

"The motto, "Fert in omnia rutubam et tristitiam terribilis amor" (In all thing terrible love brings trouble and sadness"); depicts a man hanging from a gallows and a night landscape with trees, bats, and a crescent moon."

H Danreuther - bookplate by Edmond des Robert

"Coat of arms. Armorial shield Crest: a woodsman holding an uprooted tree (also depicted on shield). Motto: Quantum est quod nescimus (How little we know). Multicolored. The motto was previously used by the Dutch scholar Daniel Heinsius (1580-1655)"

James T Tarbotton - bookplate by C Helard (undated)

"Raised arms hold uprooted oak tree with

owl in upper branch. Portrait bottom right."

James Henry Darlington - bookplate by Louis Rhead, 1902

"Two women (Theology and Science) shake hands under symbol of the Holy Spirit"

Count Karl Emich of Leiningen-Westerburg - bookplate by A de Riquer, 1903

"Dramatic depicition of bird's head"

Max Harrwitz - bookplate by SB (undated)

"Putto with open book; another putto on
chair of books; central tree with shield and motto.
(Harrwitz was a rare book dealer and publisher in Berlin)"

Pio Freixa Aulet - bookplate by José Triadó (undated, ~1905)

"Town in winter landscape; shield with bars and wing."

Robert Hall, 1902

"Interior with wall of books, large reading table with
books (including open illuminated manuscript, chairs;
large window looking out onto building with spire tower."

Rudolf Benkard, 1895

Halt! Mein Buch!

Stop! My Book!

"Hand reaches out from cloud to nab a man running past "

a bookshelf with a book (Ex libris album) under his arm.

William Livermore Kingman - bookplate by David McNeely Stauffer, 1898

**I am but a Gatherer and Disposer of other Men's Stuff**

"Man in renaissance garb, with ruff, sash and sword; behind him, shelves of books, scientific instruments, decanter and glass; on the table, an envelope for prints marked 'Gravures', partially unfurled print marked 'H. Goltzius'; ink pot and quill, globe showing western hemisphere; open book resting on two closed books.
Note - Quote is by Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639), from the preface to his Elements of Architecture (1624); name on print refers to Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617)"

SA Flint (undated)

"Floral frame with beehive against flint arrowhead in center; spires upper left; musical instruments upper right; books lower left; easel lower right, Motto: Sans hâte, sans repos (Without haste, without rest)"

The John Starr Stewart Ex Libris Collection (1600+ bookplates) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
See Will's post on 50Watts sampling from the back half of the Ex Libris Collection.
The World of Ex Libris: A Historical Perspective (via The Wayback Machine)
Previously on BibliOdyssey:::::::: The Bookplate Book --><-- Assorted Ex Libris --><-- Pratt Ex Libris --><-- Heraldic Bookplates --><-- Oleg Denisenko --><----> AND, generally : bookart

World Designs

2012-04-25T00:26:00.002+10:00

African, early Medieval, Greek, ancient Egyptian, Islamic,

Pacific Island and Tibetan mandala line drawing designs

African Designs

Early Medieval Designs

Greek Designs

Ancient Egyptian Designs

Islamic designs

Pacific Island Designs

Tibetan Mandala^ Designs

The majority of these line drawing designs come from 'Designs of the World' 2011 by Eva Wilson and published by the British Museum
'Designs of the World' is part of the British Museum Pattern Book Series.
The last two images were scanned from 'Tibetan Mandalas' 1998 by Tatjana Blau.

Rakusan Woodblock Prints

2012-04-22T07:08:00.002+10:00

These illustrations by Tsuchiya Rakusan are (mostly) from a series of 100 large woodblock prints called Rakuzan Kachou Gafu, based on paintings that Rakusan made between 1925 and 1929. They are displayed here with the permission of the Rakusan Project site.

Glossy-leafed Nandina and Brown-eared Bulbuls (Winter)

[Nandina or Heavenly Bamboo, Nandina domestica, 南天 nanten has many varieties and garden cultivars]

"This woodblock print was produced from an original painting on silk dating from the late 1920s[..]

Rakusan [..] published the print as the 1st design in his series of one hundred woodblock prints called 楽山花鳥畫譜 Rakuzan Kachou Gafu, literally:
'Rakusan's Flower and Bird Print Series'."

Male Green Peafowl/Green Peacock (Early Summer)

"In Japan all peafowl are called 孔雀 or マクジャク kujaku regardless of species. Although no peafowl species is native to Japan, two species were long ago imported as exotics and have naturalized in parks and gardens. The species depicted [..] is the Green Peafowl, Pavo muticus, which is usually today distinguished as 真孔雀 or マクジャク ma-kujaku, lit. 'true peafowl' indicating the most commonly encountered species."

Red-leafed Sumac and Japanese Grosbeaks (Winter)

"Sumac (also spelled "Sumach") or Wax Tree Rhus succedanea 櫨 haze is now often labeled as 黄櫨の木 haze-no-ki, lit. 'sumac tree'. The modifier 紅葉 kouyou, lit. 'red-leaf', refers to the color the leaves turn in autumn (as in this illustration) rather than to a variety of the tree. The gray masses hanging amid the leaves are the seed clusters.

Japanese Grosbeak or Masked Hawfinch Eophona personata has many names in Japanese. Today the bird would be called イカル ikaru 'great-beak' (a loan-translation of 'grosbeak') which can be written in kanji as 鵤, 斑鳩 lit. 'pied pigeon', or 桑鳲 lit. 'mulberry pigeon'. From the fancied resemblance of the large bill to a bean the bird may also be called 豆鳥 mame-dori lit. 'bean-bird', or 豆回し mame-mawashi lit. 'bean-turner' (from the way it moves its bill as it eats)."

Wild Chestnut, Fall-dried Japanese Yam Vine and Eurasian Jay (Late Autumn)

"Japanese Yam Dioscorea japonica is the vining plant shown weaving among the chestnut branches. いもづる (芋蔓), imo-zuru, lit. 'tuber-vine' usually refers to cultivated sweet potato vines. [..]

The descriptor 枯 (now usually 枯れ) kare means 'dry, withered, dead (of vegetation)'. いも, (also イモ, 芋, 薯, 藷, 蕷) imo is the general term for any sort of tuber, including taro and the various kinds of potatoes, as well as yams; 蔓, つる, tsuru means 'creeper, vine' which limits the application to the vining sweet potatoes and yams. Today, the native wild Japanese Yam is popularly called ヤマノイモ, やまのいも, 山(の)芋, yama no imo, lit. 'mountain-tuber'.

Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius カケス, かけす, 懸(け)巣, kakesu is native to Japan where it frequently eats nuts and can often be found in nut trees. The name Rakusan used 樫鳥, 橿鳥, カシドリ, kashi-dori, lit. 'evergreenoak-bird' is one of several popular variant names playing on the bird's fondness for acorns."

Sand Dune, Sea Bindweed, and Blue Rockthrush (Mid Summer)

Sea Bindweed, Calystegia soldanella, 浜晝顔 (now usually 浜昼顔) hama-hirugao, is a native wildflower of sandy places.

Blue Rockthrush, Monticola solitarius, 磯鵯 or イソヒヨドリ iso-hiyodori (lit. '(rocky)beach-bulbul') is also native to Japan.

"This Rakusan design is unusual in several ways. Most of the original paintings for this series date from the late 1920s, but this one had to have been from a bit later. The evidence for this is that Rakusan adapted the depiction of the bird on the left from an illustration which was not published until the spring of 1930.

The publication of the first volumes of plates and text for 鳥類寫生圖譜 (鳥類写生図譜) Chourui Shasei Zufu (CSZ) (1927-1938) was one of the main influences which inspired Rakusan to create his woodblock print series."

Glory Bower and Red-whiskered Bulbuls (Early Summer)

Bleeding-heart Glory Bower (or Clerodendron), Clerodendrum thomsoniae, 源平臭木 or げんぺいくさぎ (or as here 源平くさぎ) genpeikusagi, is an exotic tropical vine shown here growing on an unidentifiable leafless tree or shrub for support.

Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocusus, 紅羅雲 or コウラウン (or as here こうらうん) kouraun is not native to Japan, but it is a popular cage and aviary bird worldwide

Re: last 2 images - "Rakusan eventually produced a series of at least 7 small, simple, woodblock prints suitable for use on winter holiday greeting cards. The designs cover a wide variety of styles and subjects, but all include snow. It is not known what Rakusan called this series of designs, so here they have been assigned the name Winter Cards. [..]

It is possible that all of the designs may date to the pre-WWII period 1936-1941, but a few could have first appeared only after the war.Producing these designs required many fewer impressions than Rakusan's typical woodblock prints. Therefore, well into the early 1950s Rakusan was able to reprint many small batches of these designs for sale and for guest gifts."

All the images above are displayed here with the permission of the hosting site: the Rakusan Project, an evolving labour of love by Dr MJP Nichols. There is a large gallery section (modest resolution) and just a few background articles so far. As inferred from the layout above, some, but not all, of the illustrations on the site are accompanied by detailed notes. [there's more to see on the site]

"Rakusan Tsuchiya* [1896-1976] was born in Kyoto and studied art under the great Kyoto artist, Seiho Takeuchi. His detailed and intricately colored woodblock prints were sold by his studio before W.W.II until around 1948. Walter Foster promoted and sold Rakusan's prints in 1950s to the market in USA." [source]
*there are a number of different English spellings of his name

'The Art of Rakusan Tsuchiya Famous Print Maker of Japan', 1970: Walter Foster Publication {Amazon}.
Previously: Japan.

Rakusan Tsuchiya in his Kyoto art studio

(undated, but probably around 1930) via CardCow

The Rhetorica

2012-04-17T09:10:00.002+10:00

The illuminated manuscript images below are owned by Fondation Martin Bodmer in the Geneva municipality of Cologny and hosted online through the esteemed Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland.

(e-codices Terms of Use)

(All the images above have been cropped slightly)

Guillaume Fichet (1433-?1480) was a leading humanist figure during the French Renaissance. As a lecturer in theology, philosophy and rhetoric, Fichet was awarded a doctorate and professorship and became Rector of the University of Paris (Sorbonne).

Together with an academic colleague, Fichet was responsible for bringing the newly created printing press to Paris for the first time in 1471, where it was installed at the Sorbonne.

It is with some measure of irony that the manuscript seen above from 1471 - essentially a record, in Latin, of 10 years of secular teachings by Fichet on the art of rhetoric - was also among the earliest books to be published by Fichet's printing press in that first year.

The top image above shows this manuscript of Fichet's teachings being presented to a representative from the royal family who sponsored the work, Princess Yolanda of Savoy. A total of four hand-written manuscripts of 'The Rhetoric' were known to have been produced.

There appears to be few details online about the scriptorium origins for the Fondation Martin Bodmer illuminated manuscript version, as seen above. It consists of about 180 parchment folio pages with text by a couple of different hands (at least) in Latin, with beautiful, detailed initials and floriated border and full page decoration, including a few drollery inclusions.

'The Rhetorica' by Guillaume Fichet, 1471 (Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer Cod. Bodmer 176) is available through the Virtual Manuscripts Library of Switzerland (thumbnail page).
'Guillaume Fichet's Literary Gift to Duke François II of Brittany' 2009 by Diane Booton IN: Nottingham Medieval Studies is available in full from Academia.edu.
The first page of 'The Rhetorica' by Guillaume Fichet by George Kennedy 1987 (IN: Rhetorica) is available for free via JSTOR.
Wikipedia (on Fichet) : English & French [T].
'The first Paris Press; an Account of the Books Printed for G. Fichet and J. Heynlin in the Sorbonne, 1470-1472' (1897) at the Internet Archive. [Amazon]

Lurking in the Shadows

2012-04-15T21:20:00.008+10:00

Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass

That I may see my shadow as I pass

Shakespeare: Richard III Act 1 Scene 2**

A Foolscap

A Greedy Pig

A Parrot

A Crocodile

A Pump

A Bantom

A Little Duck

An Old Fashion

'Shadows' title page

[all images were cropped from the full page layouts and were lightly cleaned of background spots]

"Charles Bennett (1829-67) was a talented illustrator who worked mainly as a caricaturist for periodicals such as the Comic Times and Comic News; he joined Punch in 1865, but died in poverty only two years later. He wrote stories for his own children and illustrated them with delightful comic details, often cutting his own wood blocks."
[source ::: home]

"He also illustrated children's books like 'Papernose Woodensconce' (1854), 'The Faithless Parrott' (1858) and 'Mr. Wind and Madame Rain' (1864). The stories Charles Bennett drew for Punch often showed a sequence, and can be seen as an early form of comics."
[source]

'Shadows' by Charles Henry Bennett was published in London in the 1850s and has been digitised by Widener Library at Harvard University. It contains about 24 coloured lithographs and was the first volume from (I think) a 2 or 3 book set. The caricatures were quite popular at the time for the comical way they allegedly revealed the subject's true character through the shadow cast.
Via Tip of the Iceberg: Unique & Unusual Finds at the Harvard Library.
Wikipedia article on CH Bennett.
The Mary Evans Picture Library has a collection of Bennett illustrations, including a set of drawings similar to those above from 'Shadow and Substance', 1860. [They sell prints via Amazon too]
The Optical Toys site has a couple of covers of 'Shadows' books. [home]
There are references to Bennett all over the place, but none are particularly comprehensive. He was a prolific and versatile artist who is regarded as a pioneer in the comic illustration form. You can get a bit of an overview of his range from a google images search.

**The Shakespeare passage^ up top has Richard being reminded by a mirror ("glass") that he is always on stage and that a reflection, like a shadow (metaphor), is divorced from the true nature of character portrayed in reflected or shadowed form.

Architectural Stationery Vignettes

2012-04-13T04:43:00.014+10:00

The images in this post all come from Columbia University's very large assortment of commercial stationery (featuring architectural illustrations): the Biggert Collection.

The vast majority of the images below have been cropped, cleaned and variously doctored for display purposes, with an intent towards highlighting the range of letterform/font and design layouts. The underlying documents are invoices (most), letters, postcards, shipping records and related business and advertising letterhead ephemera from the mid-1800s to the 1930s.

Stewart Iron Works Company (Cincinatti, Ohio) 1926

=Manufacturers of iron fence, gates, jails, prisons and steel cells,

iron reservoir flower vases, lawn settees, ornamental iron and wire work=

Consolidated Engineering Co. (Baltimore, Maryland) 1914

=Engineers & Contractors. Building-Refrigeration-Paving. Reinforced Concrete=

Manchester Beef Co. (Manchester, New Hampshire) 1893

=Commission Merchants in Swift's Western Dressed Beef. Mutton lamb,

veal, tongues, tripe &c. Poultry a Specialty. Telephone Connection=

Evening Leader Book + Mercantile Printing (Carbondale, Pennsylvania) 1908

=The Leader guarantees the largest circulation of any paper in its field. Carbondale

typographical union label. Job promptly executed. Book and mercantile printing=

Colwell Lead Company (New York, New York) 1912

Mast, Buford & Burwell Co. Agricultural Implements (St Paul, Minnesota) 1893

L. P. Peck Furniture and Carpets (San Antonio, Texas) 1905

Allentown Manufacturing Co. Breing's White Lead (Paint) (Allentown, Pennsylvania) 1903

{reminds me of something}

=Ready mixed oil paint. Car, ship, bridge paints. Metallic oxide

paints. Paste & liquid wood fillers. Filler & stain combined.

Oil stains. Oil finish. Japans. Asphaltum varnishes &c &c=

Edwin B. Stimpson Company Rivets (Brooklyn, New York) 1925

=Cable address "Splitrivet" Brooklyn, NY. Eyelets, grommets, hooks, automatic

machines for attaching. Drawn and stamped metal articles, washers, wire forms=

Loring, Short + Harmon - Booksellers & Stationers (Portland, Maine) 1886

=Wholesale and retail and dealers in paper hangings. Manufacturers of blank books=

James A. McCafferty + Sons Mfg. Co., Inc. National White

Lead and Color Works (Brooklyn, New York) 1938

=Manufacturer of the original genuine combination gold seal whitelead.

Bedford prepared house paints. National liquid house paints.

Copper paints for ship bottoms. Anti-fouling paints. Deck & floor paints.

Gloss paints for barrels. Graphite paints in paste or liquid form. Pure putty.

Our colors are the best made in strength and purity. Varnishes & Japans=

Wm. S. Taylor + Co. Wholesale Lumber (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 1899

"Dear Sir;-

I regret exceedingly to report that my wife has a very painful carbuncle on the side of her head, which is very stubborn, and no doubt it will detain us here until Wedensday or Thursday morning. We had made every arrangement to leave Phila. to-morrow at 8.20am.

The writer will wire you on Wednesday next, or sooner, when you may expect us. As we have said before we are looking forward to enjoying your lovely resort but it would be most imprudent to leave home as conditions are at the present time.

With best wishes, I remain,
Yours truly,

Wm S Taylor"

Carbon Dioxide and Magnesia Company (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 1900

=Liquefied carbonic gas and appliances for its use.

Montgomery and Twenty-Ninth st Philadelphia=

Edward D. Depew & Co. Importers & Wholesale Grocers (New York, New York) 1908

=The Crest brand of canned goods will convince the public of their

superiority by trial of them. Teas and coffees specialties. All claims for damages

or deduction must be made within FIVE days after receipt of goods. We will make

no allowance for swells in canned goods after 30 days from the date of purchase=

Whittier Fuller Paints [later: WP Fuller & Co.] (Oakland California) 1890s

=Sole agents for French plate glass companies

- crystal sheet 21&26 ounces - and Valentine's

varnishes. Doors, windows and blinds, wallpaper,

moldings etc. Terms cash - payable in U.S. gold coin=

Egyptian Lacquer Mfg. Co. (New York, New York) 1913

Frank H. Lester Wholesaler of Bananas (New York, New York) 1904

=Ripe and shipping bananas all through the year. Commission merchant foreign fruits=

Hadfield-Penfield Steel Company (Willoughby, Ohio) 1923

=Clay working machinery, fuel oil engines, Liberty lathes,

bakery machinery, ship deck machinery, cement machinery,

rotary dryers, industrial locomotives, steel and grey iron castings.

Direct connections with all telephone & telegraphic services=

Munn Wired Envelope Company (New York, New York) 1900

=Capacity 5,000,000 envelopes a day=

Hoffman Corr & Hoffman Corkram & Co.

Contractors to the Government

=Rope, yarn, wick, waste, bags, twine, excelsior, moss, oakum, nets,

wadding, batts, awning stripes, burlaps, flags, hammocks & cotton duck=

Park Avenue Hotel (New York, New York) 1899

Parry Mfg. Co. (Carriages) Indianapolis, Indiana 1912

=The largest carriage factory in the world. Buggies, surreys,

phaetons, driving wagons, spring wagons, delivery wagons + carts=

Thomas P. Beals Co. Pine Ash + Hardwood Chamber Sets -

Woven Wire Matresses (Portland, Maine) 1890s

John Lucas + Co. Colors Ready Mixed Paints (PA NY NJ) undated

S. F. Leonard Seed Farmer + Merchant (Chicago, Illinois) 1890s

=Onion sets, bulbs, grass seeds, market garden trade a specialty.

While we exercise the greatest care to have all seeds pure and reliable,

we sell no seeds with warranty, expressed or implied in any respect,

and are not in any way responsible for the crop. If the purchaser does

not accept the seeds on these terms, they must be returned at once=

Williams Bros. Co. Picklers (Detroit, Michigan) 1906

=Manufacturers of Waldorf and Dragon brand food products. Pickles, vinegar, mustard, catsup, preserves, mince meat and other fine table condiments. Branch factories and salting works=

The New Home Sewing Machine Co (Orange, Massachusetts) 1910s

Walter Brewing Co. (Pueblo, Colorado) 1911

"The Robert Biggert Collection of Architectural Vignettes on Commercial Stationery was donated to the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library by Robert Biggert in honor of Lisa Ann Riveaux. This unique collection of printed ephemera contains over 1,300 items with architectural imagery spanning the dates 1850 to 1920, in more than 350 cities and towns in forty-five states, as well as the District of Columbia and U.S. possessions. The collection's billheads, letterheads, envelopes, checks, and business cards document the rise of the United States as an industrial nation, in often elaborate vignettes of factories, warehouses, mines, offices, stores, banks, and hotels."

The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University (hosts of the collection) also link to a lengthy article (from the mid-1990s I think) by the collector himself: [pdf warning-->] 'Architectural Vignettes on Commercial Stationery', by Robert Biggert IN: Ephemera Journal [Volume VIII]. Well worth a read.

Related? Maybe: Banknote vignettes :: Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Typography :: Ornamental Typography :: Deco Vignettes :: Header Vignettes.

Insect Wall Charts

2012-04-07T00:27:00.011+10:00

The images here are from the

Historic Entomology Online site

at Wageningen UR

"Araneina epeira"

Araneus^ is a genus of common orb-weaving spiders.

Araneus was formerly called epeira and it remains a pseudonym.

Pseudophyllus neriifolius^ (bush cricket)

Valanga nigricornis (yellow or shorthorned grasshopper^)

Vespula vulgaris^

(common wasp)

Forficula auricularia^

(European earwig)

Locusta migratoria^

(African migratory locust)

Erysiphe graminis (deprecated)

Ascomycetes ersyphales^

{powdery mildews .. not quite insects}

Die Mehlmotte

Ephestia kuehniella^

(Mediterranean flour moth)

Mucor mucedo^

(soil fungus distinguished by the formation of sporangia: also not quite an insect.)

Pediculus vestimenti aka Pediculus humanus aka Pediculus corporis

(body lice)^

Heliothrips rubrocinctus^

(Red-banded thrips : tiny, cigar-shaped, flightless,

feather-winged, tropical fruit-loving insects)

Melolontha vulgaris

(may-bug or cockchafer^ or sprang-beetle)

Myriopoda lithobus

(Myriopoda - or Myriapoda - is a sub-phylum of Arthropoda^

containing the segmented critters: centipedes and millipedes)

Labrum, maxille, mandible, mandibula

(schematic of insect mouth parts^)

Periplaneta americana

The American cockroach^ (native to Africa)

Apis mellifica^

(Honey bee from the insect order, Hymenoptera^)

Schematic diagram of Lumbricus (earthworm^) species

A cicada^ species

Calandra granaria

(a type of grain weevil [genus now called Sitophilus^])

The selection of wall chart images was taken from the *Wall charts Entomology and Phytopathology* collection out of the Special Collections Digital Library at Wageningen University and Research Centre (Holland). [Special Collections]

The linked caret ^ characters nestled in the insect image captions above lead to a wide range of entomological sites for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the world of creepy crawlies, or for those seeking extra credit points.

Previously:

Many site visitors know that all BibliOdyssey posts are summarised and tagged at the Delicious bookmarks site. This will continue unchanged.

But I've also recently started a PINBOARD bookmarks account - the intention here is to save the same BibliOdyssey blog posts (but with more detailed tags) PLUS add links to significant exhibition & research database sites (you know: the usual art/book etc fare of this place).

So it will hopefully end up being something approximating a permanent edited collection of the BibliOdyssey twitter feed. Does this all the sense be making? It's to help me keep track of everything essentially, but others may find it helpful in warding off boredom, ignorance and vampires.

The Whaling Naturalist

2012-04-03T01:54:00.006+10:00

"American whale oil lit the world. It was used in the production of soap, textiles, leather, paints, and varnishes, and it lubricated the tools and machines that drove the Industrial Revolution. The baleen cut from the mouths of whales shaped the course of feminine fashion by putting the hoop in hooped skirts and giving form to stomach-tightening and chest-crushing corsets. Spermaceti, the waxy substance from the heads of sperm whales, produced the brightest- and cleanest-burning candles the world has ever known, while ambergris, a byproduct of irritation in a sperm whale’s bowel, gave perfumes great staying power and was worth its weight in gold."
'Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America' by Eric Jay Dolin, 2008

The images below come from 'The Marine Mammals of the North-Western Coast of North America' by Charles Melville Scammon, 1874. It seems from his name that Scammon's destiny was pre-ordained. [via]

"The order of Cetacea, as established by naturalists, includes all species of mammalia which have been created for inhabiting the water only; and although their forms bear a strong resemblance to those of the ordinary piscatory tribe, still they are animals having warm blood, breathing by means of lungs, and frequently coming to the surface of the water to respire.

In nearly all Cetaceans, the nostrils — termed spiracles or spout-holes — are situated on the top of the head. Through these the thick vaporous breath is ejected into the atmosphere to various altitudes, according to the nature of the animal in this particular respect; and through the same orifices a fresh supply of air is received into its breathing system. Although the Cetaceans are strictly regarded as mammals, they have no true feet; their pectorals being in the form of heavy, bony, and sinewy fins, while the posterior extremity of the body terminates in a broad cartilaginous limb of semi -lunar shape, frequently termed the caudal fin or tail, but known among whalemen as the "flukes," the lobes of which extend horizontally."
[Scammon in the Intro. to 'The Marine Mammals of the North-Western Coast..' {alternative}]

California Grays among the ice

Appearance of a female humpback suckling her young

Embyros of a California Gray Whale

Humpbacks lobtailing, breaching and finning

The Sulphurbottom (Sibbaldius sulfureus, Cope.)

Fig. 1. The California Gray Whale (Rhachieanectes claucus Cope.)

Fig. 2. The Finback (Balaenoptera velifera, Cope.)

"The heroic and often tragic stories of American whalemen were renowned. They sailed the world’s oceans and brought back tales filled with bravery, perseverance, endurance, and survival. They mutinied, murdered, rioted, deserted, drank, sang, spun yarns, scrimshawed, and recorded their musings and observations in journals and letters. They survived boredom, backbreaking work, tempestuous seas, floggings, pirates, putrid food, and unimaginable cold. Enemies preyed on them in times of war, and competitors envied them in times of peace.

Many whalemen died from violent encounters with whales and from terrible miscalculations about the unforgiving nature of nature itself. And through it all, whalemen, those “iron men in wooden boats” created a legacy of dramatic, poignant, and at times horrific stories that can still stir our emotions and animate the most primal part of our imaginations. “To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme,” proclaimed Herman Melville, and the epic story of whaling is one of the mightiest themes in American history."
'Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America' by Eric Jay Dolin, 2008

A northern whaling scene

The Bowhead or Great Polar Whale (Balaena mysticetus. Linn.)

1. Humpback (Megaptera versabilis Cope.)

2. Sharp-headed Finner (Balaenoptera davidsoni.Scammon.)

Right whale of the North East coast (Balaena sieboldii, Gray.)

Sperm whale in search of food

Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus, Linn.)

Implements belonging to a whale boat

1. Oar 2. Boat-waif 3. Boat-hook 4. Paddle 5. Boat-sails 6. Sweeping-line-buoy 7. Lead to Sweeping line 8. Chock-pin 9. Short-warp 10. Boat-piggin 11. Boat-keg 12. Lantern-key 13. Sweeping-line 14. Boat-hatchet 15. Lance-warp 16. Boat-grapnel 17. Boat-knife 18. Fog-horn 19. Line-tub 20. Boat-bucket 21. Drag 22. Nipper 23. Boat-crotch 24. Boat-compass 25. Boat-anchor 26. Row-lock 27. Tub-oar-crotch 28. Hand-lance 29. One-flued-harpoon 30. Toggle-harpoon 31. Boat-spade 32&33. Greener's-gun-harpoon 34. Greener's harpoon-gun 35. Bomb-lance 36. Bomb-lance gun

Whaleboat with Greener's gun mounted

Whaling Scene in the California Lagoons

Charles Melville Scammon (1825-1911) was a whaler, naturalist, and author. Rather than do a poor job of repetition or regurgitation, I recommend you read the presentation post from Harvard's Iceberg blog:

"Charles Melville Scammon, was an unconventional man for the 19th century, being both a naturalist and a whaling captain. Scammon was born in Maine, where he skippered a number of merchant vessels across the Atlantic. Like many other Americans in 1849, he turned his attention westward with the Gold Rush in hopes of gaining a better living. In California, he commanded a number of whaling vessels during the 1860s and 1870s, becoming the first to hunt the gray whales off the California/Baha coastline and eventually contributing to the near extinction of the species. Ironically, he was not just an accomplished hunter, but also a careful and passionate observer of marine life and behavior, filling up numerous journals and sketchbooks during his voyages...[more]"

'The marine mammals of the north-western coast of North America described and illustrated : together with an account of the American whale-fishery' 1874 by Charles Melville Scammon is available online via Harvard University. [also: Internet Archive]
"The Whaler who became a Naturalist" (book chapter) by Dick Russell. [W]
The biographical chapter on Scammon is accessible at Google books from 'Early American Nature Writers: a Biographical Encyclopedia' by D Patterson (2007) [Amazon].
'Scammon: Beyond the lagoon : a biography of Charles Melville Scammon' 1986 by LB Landauer (Pacific maritime history series).
CM Scammon titles at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

"All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the lees of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale’s white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart’s shell upon it."
Herman Melville: 'Moby-Dick', 1851

The Crimean War

2012-03-28T01:39:00.003+11:00

These lithographic scenes from the Crimean War, based on sketches by William Simpson, were published in London in a couple of series by Colnaghi & co. in the second half of the 1850s.

The illustrations here are all derived from .tif downloads and the images themselves are cropped back to the edges of the mounted borders. The scene keys or legends were cut from the sides of their corresponding prints and the deficits filled in. A few images have had background stains removed.

"The Crimean War (1853-1856) was a conflict between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula, but there were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia, Caucasus, the Baltic Sea, the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea. In Russia, this war is also known as the "Eastern War" and in Britain it was also called the "Russian War" at the time."

Interior of the Malakoff with the remains of the round tower

"Print shows an interior view of the Malakoff, the main Russian fortification before Sevastopol, following the successful French assault."

Sebastopol from the sea - sketched from the deck of H.M.S. Sidon

"Print shows sailors and cannons on deck of the H.M.S. Sidon, with a distant view of the forts and other buildings in Sevastopol."

Balaklava, looking towards the sea

"Print shows view of Balaklava looking over the rooftops toward the harbor which is getting crowded with British ships; two bell tents in the foreground, and remains of an old castle on the hillside in the background."

"William Simpson arrived off the Crimean peninsular on November 15 and could hear distant firing. While he had missed the early battles, he was able to record the events before Sebastopol. He made numerous acquantances who helped him with details for his pictures, but he was also struck by the plight of the common soldiers, "miserable looking beings...covered with mud, dirt, and rags", he wrote. He hobnobbed with many officers including Lord Raglan and Captain Peel; he also met Roger Fenton who took his photograph. In May, 1855, Simpson accompanied Raglan on the expedition to Kertch which was captured on the 24th, but was back in time to observe the first attack on Sebastopol in June. On the night of the 17th, he crawled out of a trench to view the attack. He wrote, "It was a wild orchestra of sound, never to be forgotten." He was still at the front when the city finally surrendered, and he quit the Crimea in the autumn of 1855.

Throughout his time at the front, he would send back his watercolours to London where the lithographers of Day & Son would transfer them to stone. Simpson was paid 20 pounds for each picture. For the color, a separate stone was used for each tone. Colnaghis exhibited some of the watercolours, including a show at the Graphic Society in February 1855. The first advertisements for the lithographs appeared in May 1855 and in the following month, a second series was announced. In all, the Colnaghi's produced two large portfolios containing over eighty lightographs entitled The Seat of the War in the East. Two thousand copies of the complete set were produced. Simpson dedicated the series to Queen Victoria whose patronage he enjoyed for the rest of his life, and he was a frequent visitor to Windsor Castle and Balmoral. So popular were his pictures that he became affectionately known at 'Crimean Simpson'. [source]

View Larger Map

Charge of the heavy cavalry brigade, 25th Octr. 1854

"Print shows the Enniskillen Dragoons and the 5th Dragoon Guards engaging the Russian cavalry in the midst of the camp of the light cavalry brigade which is being plundered by the Russian troops during the battle of Balaklava."

The railway at Balaklava, looking south

"Print shows the railway under construction in Balaklava near the harbor, also shows masts of ships in the harbor and the ruins of the old Genoese castle on a hill in the background."

A Christmas dinner on the heights before Sebastopol

"Print shows (from left) Capn. Sir Charles Russell, Bart, Capn. Charles Turner, Capn. Alexander Viscount Balgonie, Capn. Fredk. Bathurst, Capn. Burnaby, Lieut. Colonel Charles Lindsay, Col. Fredk. Wm. Hamilton, Lieut. Col. Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, Capn. George Higginson, Lieut. Robert Wm. Hamilton, Capn. H.W. Verschoyle, and Capn. Sir James Fergusson, Bart seated around a table in a tent, enjoying a Christmas dinner."

A hot day in the batteries

"Print shows action in a British artillery battery, mortar fire, mortars and cannon being loaded, the removal of wounded, and in the distance, the fortifications of Sevastopol."

A quiet day in the diamond battery -

portrait of a Lancaster 68 pounder, 15th Decr. 1854

"Captain Peel, son of Sir Robert Peel, stands by the Lancaster 68-pounder, while his men keep their heads below the parapet of the battery." [source]

A hot night in the batteries

"Print shows action in a British artillery battery with cannons firing and being loaded, and men bringing in supplies."

A quiet night in the batteries

"A sketch in the Greenhill battery (Major Chapman's), 29th Jany. 1855" | "Print shows men and cannons in a British artillery battery, at night."

Commissariat difficulties - the road from Balaklava

to Sevastopol, at Kadikoi, during the wet weather

"Print shows wagons and a cannon mired in mud, broken wagons, and dead or dying horses and oxen on the roadside, at Kadikoi, on the road to Sevastopol"

Embarkation of the sick at Balaklava

"[This] tinted lithograph, [..] shows injured and ill soldiers in the Crimean War boarding boats to take them to hospital facilities. Modern nursing had its roots in the war, as war correspondents for newspapers reported the scandalous treatment of wounded soldiers in the first desperate winter, prompting the pioneering work of women such as Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, Frances Margaret Taylor and others." [source]

Excavated church in the caverns at Inkermann - looking west

"Print shows interior view of cavern church showing remains and two soldiers firing over a wall at the entrance to the cavern."

Highland Brigade camp, looking south

"Print shows an artillery battery with Capn. Mansfield, Major Shadwell, Lieut. Col. Stirling, Major Gordon, and Sir Colin Campbell standing near the cannons, with the camp of the Highland Brigade, showing huts and tents, in the background; the harbor at Balaklava and the remains of the old Genoese castle are visible in the distance on the right."

Sentinel of the Zouaves, before Sevastopol - The seat of war in the East

"Print shows a soldier standing guard at a French battery with snow-covered cannons and Zouaves carrying bundles of wood to a camp in the background." & "Two sentinels with fixed bayonets patrol a gun emplacement, while three figures cross the area carrying firewood" [source]

The cavalry affair of the heights of Bulganak - the first gun, 19th Sepr. 1854

"Print shows expansive view of the countryside, the Russian cavalry and artillery in the distance, Russian guns opening fire on British troops as they draw up into formation."

The new works at the siege of Sebastopol on the right attack -

from the mortar battery on the right of Gordon's battery

"Print shows a mortar battery with soldiers, two mortars, gabions, and earthworks, with a distant view of Sevastopol." & "Guns and ammunition being prepared for action behind earthworks in the foreground, the Russian defences are visible in the distance." [source]

Google books limited excerpt from: 'The Campaign in the Crimea. An Historical Sketch' 2002 by George Brackenbury.

[unless otherwise stated, all commentary above is quoted or paraphrased from the LoC]
--click through on any image above for a greatly enlarged version--

The lithographs of Crimean War scenes - 'The Seat of War in the East' - after watercolour sketches by William Simpson, come from the Library of Congress Popular Graphic Arts Collection (search result) in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC).
You can see a quick overview of a different batch of lithographs from this same print series at Heaton's.
The British Museum has about twenty original watercolour sketches for the Crimean set (click 'all objects' adjacent to Simpson's name) [The BM also has a fair number of lithographic prints from 'The Seat of War in the East' set]

"The Crimean War, famed for the 'Charge of the Light Brigade', would fundamentally alter the balance of power in Europe and set the stage for World War One" - The Crimean War By Andrew Lambert at the BBC History site.

The BM biography of William Simpson: "Draughtsman, early lithographer, watercolour painter, journalist and antiquarian. Covered the Crimean war on behalf of Colnaghi's but later joined the 'Illustrated London News' and covered the Abyssinian campaign (1868), Franco-Prussian war, Modoc war (1873) and Second Afghan war. Buried in Highgate Cemetery in London. A number of watercolours made by Simpson during his time in the Crimea, Magdala and Afghanistan are in the British Museum, along with a small number of archaeological and ethnographic items."

Love Games

2012-03-13T06:42:00.009+11:00

The 17th century engravings below come from a book of love emblems that is variously categorised around the traps as erotic and pornographic - it will help if you are trilingual and have a (very) good imagination. (I've omitted the French poetry pages to tone down the salaciousness)

'Le Centre de l'Amour, Decouvert Soubs Divers Emblesmes Galans et Facetieux' (sic) was first published (by Chez Cupidon of course!) in about 1650 and was uploaded by U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign to the Internet Archive.

The 'gallant' and 'facetious' in the title lend an air of humour or mockery in relation to this Renaissance/Baroque publishing genre of embelemata, which is usually treated with a modicum of seriousness. The theme of games or sport has been deployed as a metaphor in the illustrations for the difficulties and sensitivities encountered in the negotiation of a relationship.

The book's readers are meant to contemplate the illustrations in conjunction with mottoes in Latin and German underneath, and the short, French epigrammatic verses appearing on the accompanying pages. In this way, they will be eventually able to decipher the true meanings of the visual scenes. Personally, I often find it difficult to divine the underlying message in illustrations from the era, because there was a very different mindset in relation to allegory and hidden meanings in objects and pictures back then (I touched on this phenomenon in a bit more detail once before: The Odd Baroque). However, I do find the visual mystification - only one facet of the trope - to be a charming dimension to that artistic era.

We see examples or precursor equivalents of such games as tennis (jeu de paume), croquet, bowls, shuffleboard, volleyball, jousting and backgammon. Music and the playing of instruments is presumably included within the same rubric for allegorical purposes in the emblems. Although there isn't anything overt in the erotic sense in the images above, there are a few scenes (especially those not shown) in which it is very easy to pick the double meanings and lurid allusions, even if the engravings themselves are ostensibly innocent.

Peter Rollos (active from about 1619 to 1644) was a German engraver who worked in Frankfurt, Prague and Berlin. Two of his notable publications (in which the illustrations seen above first appeared) were 'Vita Corneliana' and 'Euterpae Suboles' from the 1630s.

Embelmata posts on BibliOdyssey previously : these contain a wealth of related and background links that I won't bother to repeat here, save for Love Emblems.

Oh, a(n) (incomplete) copy of this book sold at auction in 2005 for over $10K.

Geometric Perspective

2012-03-07T05:10:00.013+11:00

The images below (background spot-cleaned) come from a rather obscure 16th century anonymous paper manuscript containing sketches of geometric solids. The illustrations have been cropped from the slightly larger full-page layouts.

The album of geometric and perspective drawings (Codex Guelf 74. 1. Aug. fol.) from the 1500s is available online from Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel (thumbnail pages).

It consists of more than thirty watercolour sketches of polyhedra^ or, as the Latin title on one of the images above has it, perspectives of the regular solids (a standard descriptive name, originating with Plato and Euclid).

There are virtually no references to this manuscript anywhere online and no further dating clues beyond "the 16th century". I would cautiously suggest**, therefore, that it likely dates to the latter half of the century. It is possibly copied from, or modelled after - but with the added whimsy of wildlife - some other works on geometrical shapes from after 1550 by Nuremberg/Augsburg artists such as Stoer, Lencker and Jamnitzer {links below}. [However, Nuremberg is a long way from Wolfenbüttel]

**idea may contain nuts

Previously, of particular note (each post contains many related links) :

Jamnitzer Perspectiva
Geometric Landscape
And on Giornale Nuovo: Perspectiva Literaria
Tangentially: Perspectiva

Thanks especially to Lisa from Magnolia Street Artist Books for pointing out this intriguing work [and thanks to Nina, as always!]

Thanks also to Marius for his timely reminder of George W Hart's Rapid Prototyping page.

Time, too, for a random shoutout to the Rouimi Art Institute (Calligraphy & Ebru marbling suppliers).

Waterlife and Peacock

2012-03-03T00:44:00.013+11:00

The images below come from 'Waterlife' (by Rambharos Jha, 2012) AND

'I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail' (illustrated by Ramsingh Urveti, 2012)

All illustrations are © Tara Books and the respective authors/illustrators.
The images in this post appear with permission.

The Octopus at Home

(this is a detail; the full image is down below)

"Here is the octopus in its habitat, the ocean. I have tried to capture the ocean in lines: its restless movement, the ebb and flow of its tides, the waves that billow and fall over each other, and its sheer depth. So my lines stream in different directions, curving, circling and reaching out."

The Lobster's Secret

"To express its inner being, its secret core, I painted the lobster using a maze of lines, patterns and colour. When I was done, I realized that there is no limit to what art can do."

Old Friends

"The tortoise and the frog are favourite icons of Mithila art. I have painted them in the river habitat, which is scattered with tufts of earth. [..] My frog and tortoise are resting on these tiny islands. I think they are having a conversation."

Snake Festival

"Where I live, snakes are worshipped on a certain day in the monsoon season. This is called the Nagapanchami festival. On that day, people spread cowdung on their front-yards and draw different kinds of snakes on the surface. Here I have drawn my own version of a Nagapanchami snake, but I have shown it resting on the ocean-bed."

Changing Tradition

"Here are some fish whose names I do not know. But I have drawn them according to the conventions of Mithila art. So they are familiar to me, but I have also made them new. Their otherness lies not in their shape, but in the lines of their bodies - these are not traditional Mithila lines.

Crocodile Smile

"Two things came to mind when I sat down to draw the crocodile - its prickly, harsh body and the waters that house it. [..] I have heard that a river flowing through a jungle is more green than blue, since it reflects the dense green of the foliage."

The Crab and the Spider Crab

"Traditional Mithila artists paint the crab, but they also paint another related creature called the Spider Crab. I wanted to distinguish between the two crabs. I have patterned their bodies in two different ways, and let them float in their own distinctive water-spaces."

[The images above are slightly cropped from the full-page layouts]

At 37cm x 23cm (that's ~15 x 9 inches for the historical dystopics), the oversized 'Waterlife' (by Rambharos Jha^ to be published soon by Tara Books) is a big, brightly coloured book of hand-made paper featuring folk art from India.

The gorgeous and tactile screen-printed designs are based on the wall and courtyard folk decorations that Rambharos Jha saw when he was growing up in the culture-rich region of Mithila in the East Indian state of Bihar. Jha also drew influence from the nearby Ganges river, developing a significant fascination for water and marine species.

"The Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting [..] originated at the time of the Ramayana, when King Janak commissioned artists to do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Hindu god Lord Ram.

Madhubani paintings mostly depict nature and Hindu devotional events, and the themes generally revolve around Hindu deities like Krishna, Ram, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and the religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted, along side scenes from the royal courts and social events like weddings. Generally no empty space is left; the gaps are filled by paintings of flowers, animals, birds, and even geometric designs." [source] {also}

'Waterlife' is being released in the United States next month and is highly recommended. It is one seriously gorgeous folk art book and I am grateful - again - to the publisher for sending a preview copy.

'I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail' (illustrated by Ramsingh Urveti) is another current publication from Chennai's Tara Books. It relies on the more traditional offset printing technique, but is by no means a run of the mill release.

The book features strategically placed holes in pages, serrated edges, mounted diagrams and other novel design elements to add depth (and a certain whimsy) to the way the text and illustrations are perceived.

Ramasingh Urveti belongs to the traditional Gond^ tribe of artists from central India. His black and white folk art designs accompany the text of the book : 17th century English trick-poetry - supposedly only - for children. The poem can be read in such a way as to either make perfect sense or be totally mad : this ambiguous nature is further highlighted by Jonathan Yamakami's innovative book design.

'I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail' is being released in the United States in May 2012. Again, I'm fairly blown away by the quality of the book and have no hesitation in recommending it for those who like beautiful and unique publications.

"Tara Books is an independent publisher of picture books for adults and children based in Chennai, South India. Founded in 1994, we remain a collective of dedicated writers, designers and artists who strive for a union of fine form with rich content. We continue to work with a growing tribe of adventurous people from around the world. Fiercely independent, we publish a select list that straddles diverse genres, offering our readers unusual and rare voices in art and literature."

UPDATE: [1] There's a Youtube video that goes through the book, 'I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail'.
[2] Interview with illustrator Rambharos Jha on the Tara Books blog.

Previous posts featuring works from Tara Books (highly recommended):

The Nightlife of Trees -- Folk Cats -- Gond Glyphs.

Follow BibliOdyssey on Twitter.

[97% of the time I turn down offers of preview books, so you can rightly conclude that I'm particularly enthusiastic about the releases from Tara Books]

{the first image below - the feather roundel - was spliced together from scans}

Paper Lanterns

2012-02-18T23:06:00.001+11:00

'Papierlaternen-Fabrik Riethmüller' [maker's catalog] Anonymous, c. 1880 - happy chromolithographs - from the Metropolitan Museum of Art website. {six prints are it}

Previously related? Not really, but still.. Paper Gods + Day of the Dead - Papercuts + Watch-Paper Prints.

Series Imaginum

2012-02-18T02:30:00.006+11:00

'Series Imaginum Augustae Domus Boicae, ad Genuina Ectypa Aliaque Monum Fide Digna delin. et Aaeri Incidit, Monachium' 1773 by Joseph Anton Zimmerman, is online at the Bavarian State Library in Munich - 'Miniaturansicht' for thumbnail pages.

The book is (fairly obviously) a genealogical portrait record of Bavarian nobility (or royal lineage) from about the 10th century onwards. Bavarian history being the convoluted assembly of ruling houses that it is, I'm not altogether sure what 'Domus Boicae' in the title, "A series of portraits of the noble house of Boicae', means.**

See Wikipedia articles: House of Wittelsbach and List of Rulers of Bavaria.

[Also see previous related posts: Geomancy Almanac & Duke Dress and Heraldry]

Irrespective of the true background to the series, I thought the book worth featuring for the beautiful engraving work by, or after designs by, the author, Joseph Zimmerman (d. 1797), an artist who received formal training in his chosen vocation in Regensburg and Augsburg [bio].

{all the images above were cropped from the full page layout}

**Later: I've had it confirmed that the 'Boica' in the title refers, in fact, to the German state of 'Bavaria', so it's: 'A Series of Portraits of the Noble House of Bavaria'.

Sprague's Natural History

2012-02-13T22:07:00.003+11:00

The images below are watercolour sketches by Isaac Sprague from the 1840s.
They have all been background spot-cleaned to varying extents.

Kingfisher

"A single kingfisher is depicted perched on a bare branch"

Connecticut Warbler

"The single bird is depicted perched on a flowering branch of witch hazel"

Chipmunk

"The chipmunk is perched on an ear of corn.

The date is written in graphite below the chipmunk’s tail."

Prunus serotina

"A branch of the black cherry tree is depicted with seven leaves in autumn color"

Chipping Sparrow

"The sparrow is perched on a flowering branch which also holds a nest

containing four blue-green eggs. The background is a deep brown."

American Goldfinch

"The goldfinch is perched on a stalk of chicory"

Screech Owl - Red Owl

"A single owl is depicted perched on a branch

holding a rodent with the claws of its right foot"

Six Bird's Eggs

Witherod

"Two details of witherod (Viburnum cassinoides), a

shrub also known as wild raisin. One detail of the

leaves and flower, another of the leaves and fruit."

Snow Bunting

"Two snow buntings are depicted, one on the ground and another in flight"

Pine Grosbeak

"A male and female grosbeak are depicted on pine bough"

Golden Winged Woodpecker

"A single bird is shown perched on a bare branch.

'Golden winged woodpecker' and the date are inscribed

in graphite at the bottom of the sheet below the image.

The bird depicted is now known as the yellow-shafted flicker"

Black Throated Green Warbler

"A single male bird is depicted on a branch of red maple with seeds"

Cat Bird

"A single bird is depicted perched on a branch.

Virginia creeper in fall color is twisted around the branch"

Cedar Waxwing

"The cedar waxwing is depicted perched on a branch

of chokecherry. There are no notations on the sheet"

"Isaac Sprague (1811–1895) was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, and apprenticed with his uncle as a carriage painter. He was a self-taught landscape, botanical and ornithological painter. Sprague served as one of the assistants to John James Audubon on an ornithological expedition up the Missouri River (1843), taking measurements and making sketches. His diary of this expedition is in the Boston Athenæum." [source]

"The Athenæum is fortunate to have seventy-four of Sprague’s watercolor paintings of birds, drawn between 1839 and 1842." [source]

East Asian Designs

2012-02-10T23:39:00.000+11:00

I'm afraid I don't recall where these stylised organic line drawings came from. They were scanned a couple of years ago from a library book but I didn't keep the details. Such is life.

Previous line drawing designs: Ancient Designs - Mexico + Peru ::: Native North American Designs.

At delicious bookmarks: Japan.

See you on Twitter.

Map Ornamentation

2012-02-09T19:25:00.010+11:00

The images below come from a Harvard Library exhibition from last year called: 'Going for Baroque - The Iconography of the Ornamental Map' [LINK]

"The ornamental features that may now seem little more than decorative embellishments once acted as richly nuanced symbols, analogies, and coded commentaries. This exhibit explores how decorative cartographic devices - cartouches, vignettes, figural borders, title pages, and frontispieces—could provide narrative underpinnings for the geospatial content of maps."

Note: the captions below are excerpted and you will find more information by visiting the exhibition site. Also, the names immediately below the images are the map publishers.

'Carte von Ertzgebürgischen Creysse in

Churfurstenthum Sachssen' by Peter Schenk, 1758

"Schenk’s map of Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), situated on the border of Saxony and Bohemia, offers a graphic tribute to a region whose economic livelihood relied on the extraction of tin, silver, cobalt, lead, and other metals. [..]

The instruments at the top of the sheet provide reassurance about the accuracy of the cartographic content."

'Imperium Japonicum' by Adriaan Reelant, 1740

"Adriaan Reelant (Reland), professor of oriental languages at the University of Utrecht, created this map of Japan’s 66 provinces from a variety of sources [..]

In Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868), contact with Europeans was strictly limited to trade with the Dutch East India Company—and only through the port of Nagasaki. [..]

The cultural uniqueness of Japan is emphasized by the Sino-Japanese characters identifying the provinces, the noble crests (including the triple hollyhock flowers of the Tokugawa clan), and the images of the samurai, palanquin, and pagoda."

'Going for Baroque - Japan Map' [from Harvard College Library channel]

"In the seventeenth century, the Netherlands was actively engaged in exploration, colonization, and trade throughout all regions of the globe, and Dutch publishers were busy keeping up with a growing internal demand for travel accounts, illustrations, and maps. This map of Japan, published for the first time in 1715, shows one of Holland's newest commercial partners."

'Topographische Vorstellung der neuen russischen Haupt-Residenz

und See-Stadt St. Petersburg' by Johann Baptist Homann, 1718

"When Homann published his map of St. Petersburg, this city on the shores of the Gulf of Finland was a work-in-progress, founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter I to open Russian access to Western Europe via the Baltic Sea. [..]

The cartouche represents a graphic apotheosis of Tsar Peter, whose portrait is surrounded by allegorical figures representing a broad range of the arts and sciences promoted during his reign - including geography, astronomy, history, mathematics, navigation, poetry, geometry, and engineering."

"This is one of the first published maps of St. Petersburg. The hexagonal Peter-Paul fortress is depicted at the center; the similarly fortified Admiralty is across and downriver from it. Vasilevskii Island (left), only just being settled at the time, shows the plan for its “regular” development drawn up for Peter the Great by the Swiss-Italian Domenico Trezzini (ca. 1670–1734), the first architect of St. Petersburg."

'Novissima Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula' by Nicholas Visscher, 1690

"A double hemisphere world map invites graphic embellishments that take advantage of the sheet’s marginal curved spaces. Designers often responded to this challenge by including celestial charts or polar projections in the central sections. The other margins could serve as the arena for illustrating religious, cosmological, or astrological themes. [..]

The two figures at the intersection of the hemispheres represent the triumph of Christianity over pagan idolatry."

'America Novo Descriptio' by Nicholas Visscher, 1752

"[T]he views and figures are primarily drawn from Theodore de Bry’s illustrations in his collections of travel accounts. De Bry himself never set foot in the Americas, but he had access to numerous accounts by European travelers and explorers, including those acknowledged on the borders of the map: Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and four circumnavigators (Ferdinand Magellan, Francis Drake, Thomas Cavendish, and Olivier van Noort)."

('America Novo Descriptio' is modelled after earlier maps by Willem Blaeu and Pieter van der Keere)

'Carte de la Mer du Sud et de la Mer du Nord..' by Nicolas de Fer, 1713

"De Fer’s map of the Americas offers an iconographic feast of imagery for those trying to grasp the implications of European colonial intrusion into societies whose “otherness” was their most defining feature. The map seems to suggest both economic opportunities (resources to exploit) and cultural clashes (among peoples whose customs, rites, and mores were so vastly different). The decorative vignettes are adapted from illustrations in various accounts of the first European encounters in the New World."

(Herman Moll incorporated the scene with the beavers {the scene in the top left panel above, next to the corner panel} in his 1715 map of North American British colonies)

'Plan tres exact et vüe de la ville, baye, et des nouvelles

fortifications de Gibraltar..' by Albert C Suetter, 1760

"Spain formally recognized British rule of Gibraltar in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) but, throughout the 18th century, periodically sought to reassert its territorial claims. The cartouche presents a graphic argument for an end to hostilities by featuring Mercury with his caduceus (the staff of entwined serpents, which symbolized commerce) and a cornucopia (horn of plenty). Whatever is decided by the human arbiters of destiny, the sea (Neptune) will continue to determine the fate of ships sailing through the Pillars of Hercules."

'Nova et exacta tabula geographica Salae et Castellaniae Iprensis'

by a member of one of the Hondius families of Flanders, 1663

"This carte-à-figures originally appeared in 'Flandria Illustrata' (1641-1644), a work by Antonius Sanderus, a theologian and historian whose descriptions of Flemish cities and towns are enlivened with numerous plans and views, including detailed depictions of monuments, abbeys, convents, and châteaux. [..]

This map of Ieper (Ypres) [..] celebrate[s] the rich architectural heritage of Flanders."

'Cambridgeshire' by John Speed, ~1610

"John Speed admitted that he borrowed liberally from other cartographers (or as he phrased it, “I have put my Sickle into other mens Corne and have laid my Building upon other mens Foundations”)

[F]or the ornamental features, [Speed] employed stylistic features that he particularly admired in Dutch mapmakers (including Jodocus Hondius, who engraved the plates)."

"Cambridgshire deſcribed with the deviſion of the hundreds, the Townes ſituation, with the Armes of the Colleges of that famous Vniuerſiti. And alſo the Armes of all ſuch Princes and noble men as haue heertofore borne the honorable tytles & dignities of the Earldome of Cambridg."

[the Cambridgeshire map above is one that I prepared earlier]

'Amsteldam' by Johannes de Ram, 1690

"When Johannes de Ram designed this map in the late 17th century, Amsterdam was the center of a global trading network and the wealthiest city in the world. De Ram takes great pains to emphasize the magnitude of the city’s achievements. [..]

The vignette of the busy harbor illustrates a city hosting sailing ships from every corner of the world. Accompanied by putti engaged with a plumb line, nautical charts, globe, compass, cross staff, and anchor, Mercury (instantly recognizable by his winged helmet and caduceus) symbolizes the commerce, efficiency, and spirit of adventure that made the Netherlands such a formidable maritime power."

'Le Globe Terrestre Représenté en Deux

Plans-Hémisphères..' by Jean Baptiste Nolin, 1767

"Nolin’s world map [..is presented] in the context of a biblical narrative stretching back to the beginnings of the universe. [..]

The narrative panels conclude with the giving of thanks after the Ark settled atop Mount Ararat (prominently featured on the map southwest of the Black Sea)."

IN: 'Art and Cartography: Six Historical Essays' 1987, edited by David Woodward.

Tractatus de Herbis

2012-02-06T04:40:00.005+11:00

Codex Sloane 4016 is a 15th century Italian parchment manuscript belonging to a class of books known as herbals. These medicinal treatises recorded knowledge accumulated in the oral tradition about plants believed to possess therapeutic properties. See: one, two, three.

Miniature of plants and a demon - the herb Ypericon, supposed to repel demons

Miniature of a plant and boys standing in the branches of a fruit tree

picking fruit and throwing down to a woman standing below

Miniature of a tree, a spider web, and an eagle

Miniature of plants, including a mandrake plant with a naked male body as the root

Miniatures of plants, and a cat and mouse

Miniature of a lion, a leopard, a rabbit, and an elephant

Miniatures of plants, a braying donkey, and a map

Miniatures of plants, crabs, and [most likely] a lobster-like animal [versus a scorpion as captioned at the source site] (thanks ogerard)

Miniatures of a tree and a snake

Miniatures of a plant and a bird, holding a horseshoe in its mouth

Miniature of a plant, a cricket, a crane, and a salamander

Miniature of a tree and an animal castrating itself

Produced in Lombardy in Northern Italy in 1440, 'Tractatus de Herbis' consists of over two hundred beautifully illustrated pages accompanied by Latin commentary in a Gothic script.

The whole manuscript (Sloane 4016) is accessible online from the British Library; including enlarged detail images.

A facsimile edition of 'Tractatus de Herbis' is available from the Spanish manuscript reproduction firm of M Moleiro.

VIA: Medieval & Earlier Manuscripts Blog | Miniaturaitaliana.

Previously: flora/medieval.

Calligraphy Letterform Album

2012-01-30T04:25:00.002+11:00

'Kalligraphische Schriftvorlagen' (calligraphic writing styles) was produced in the 1620s in Germany by the scribe, Johann Hering.

Johann Hering (?1580-1647) compiled his album of elaborate calligraphic letterforms, innovative type arrangements and traditional alphabets over a ten year period in the 1620s and 1630s in the Kulmbach region of Bavaria. (Or it was produced sometime during this time frame: it's not clear)

I tend to believe - and I may well be wrong - that Hering's album is more along the lines of a practice manuscript for himself rather than being a true copybook or modelbook* for educational purposes. The majority of the writing is in German (with occasional Latin) and many of the written pages are obviously copied from the bible, particularly the Book of Psalms.

[*Modelbooks: see here & here]

There is next to nothing by way of commentary online about either Hering's life or the background to his amazing album. He is simply described as a 'writing master'. A number of published books are attributed to Hering - most or all on the type/font arts - and one of his handwriting manuals was apparently republished in German in 1982 (although I didn't actually find much of a trail online).

Johann Hering's 80-page 'Kalligraphische Schriftvorlagen' is regarded as one of the treasures of the Bamberg State Library (I think it has only recently been uploaded)
Worldcat Identities entry.
CERL Thesaurus entry.
Worldcat entry for 'Das Schrift- und Kunstbüchlein' (1982 republication)
Previously: calligraphy (something of a catch-all phrase, as are most of the thematic bookmarks at Delicious - that include post summaries - relating to the BibliOdyssey blog)
Luc Devroye's giant page of calligraphy & type design resources.

Gods of the Ancients

2012-01-28T23:50:00.003+11:00

'Images Depicting the Gods of the Ancients' by Vincenzo Cartari was first published in 1556. The engravings below are from a 1624 edition (in Italian).

'Le Imagini De gli Dei de gli Antichi' by Vincenzo Cartari (with illustrations based on designs by Bolognino Zaltieri) was recently made available online via Wolfenbütteler Digitale Bibliothek.
[this is the 1664 edition, in the original Italian, with the woodcuts (that first appeared in the 3rd Ed.) replaced by engravings of modest artistic merit perhaps, yet possessing a not insignificant - continuing - contemporary influence].

Misteraitch, at the venerable (and retired) Giornale Nuovo, covered this book some years ago, displaying some woodcut scans from an earlier edition, and including some very useful commentary which is recommended; but I shan't repeat it here. The engravings above seem to be both reversed and modified from the original woodcut layouts.

Instead, as an adjunct, I'll paste in below the (complete and unaltered) translated commentary on Cartari's book from a rare book exhibition at the University of Navarra (in Spain) [LINK]:

"Mythological matter was one of the sources and themes used in literature and art of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, both in its more pagan and hedonistic as its symbolic and moralized version. The myths came to the sixteenth century by two ways: the deformed but very influential medieval transmission, and collected by his humanist philological recovery of ancient texts and testimonies.

One of the works that contributed to the systematization and dissemination of this rich heritage throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was the work of Italian poet Vincenzo Cartari 'I Imagini Antichi degli degli Dei, nelli cualisono degli Antichi descritte religione him, riti e parrot ceremony with di molto agiunta principalia l'e con l'Imagini Esposizione in epilogue di suo ciascheduna and significance'.

Cartari, of which little else is known other than it was in the service of the house of Este, is known almost exclusively for this work and a versified translation of the Tuscan in meters Fasti of Ovid published in Venice in 1551.

The book is divided into 15 chapters, each of which is one of the main gods and lesser gods and heroes in some way related to it. The subject of each chapter comes from the texts of ancient poets translated by Cartari as Italian poems.

The cause of the success of the work was in addition to its originality in presentation, the only of its kind available in a vulgar tongue. This success was further increased from the 1571 Venetian edition by Ziletti Giordani, who illustrated with 89 large woodcuts opened by Bolognino Zaltieri dimensions.

Samples of undoubted interest aroused by the book are the successive reprints of the original Italian and translations of it made into Latin and French Verdier in 1581.

The copy owned by the Library of the University of Navarra belongs to the first edition of this Latin translation published in Lyon in July Guichard, Barthelemy Honorat and Michel Etienne. The engravings with which it is illustrated are very similar to those of Zaltieri, but sometimes are smaller and are often printed in mirror."

The University of Mannheim has what appears to be a 1581 Latin edition of the 'Gods of the Ancients' (click 'Titel...' for thumbs) -- these are a more sophisticated digital rendering of the original woodcut illustrations, I'd say. It's also probably a more reliable legend for distinguishing Gods in the images above than I might otherwise fumble to misconfabulate.
Wikipedia has a small entry for Vincenzo Cartari.
But again, I recommend reading the entry at Giornale Nuovo for salient background information.
Follow along at Twitter, if you are so inclined: @BibliOdyssey

Stripping Turtles

2012-01-26T20:20:00.010+11:00

The very rare, 2-volume series, 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae', by LH Bojanus was published in 1819-1821 (in Latin), and includes 39 stipple engravings by F Lehmann after drawings by the author.

[The images below have been cropped and background cleaned]

Following completion of his medical training in Germany, Ludwig Heinrich (Louis Henri) Bojanus (1776-1827) somehow obtained a position at the University of Vilnius (Lithuania) as a professor of veterinary science.

Bojanus eventually specialised in comparative anatomy, an emerging discipline - originally steeped in philosophy - that had been championed by contemporary German thinker-polymaths such as Goethe, Lorenz Oken* and Johann Baptist von Spix*.

"[At] the University of Vilnius, Bojanus became the chairman of the school of “livestock medicine.” He was the first to describe the organ of secretion (kidney) of the lamellibranchia mollusk (Bojanus organ), but he erroneously identified it as the lung.

He studied equine anatomy and embryology and contagious animal diseases (anthrax, plague, and others). He established zoological and zootomical departments at the University of Vilnius, created the first helminthological collection in Russia, developed a curriculum, and introduced a program of veterinary studies. Bojanus’ basic works were in embryology, zoology, medicine, veterinary science, and zootechnology." [source]

Bojanus published a wide variety of scientific papers and was an Honorary Member of the Swedish Scientific Academy, but it was the turtle anatomy set that was his most famous publication and these volumes are still cited as primary sources.

The two volumes of 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae' by Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus (1819-1821) are available from the fabulous Biodiversity Heritage Library (from Harvard University).
The Bojanus turtle anatomy volumes at the Internet Archive.
At least Vol. 1 is available from the AnimalBase at SUB Göttingen (I think they are presently digitising Vol. 2).
I noticed in passing that the 2-volume set - "not in good condition" - was selling for more than $US8000. I also saw mention of a reissue of the set in the early 20th century, but I've not been able to find a copy of the books in English.
A short Bojanus biography at Wikipedia.
A paperback edition of 'Anatome Testudinis Europaeae' is available from Amazon.
Previously: The Embryology of Turtles ::: Turtle Diary.

The Yuko Shimizu Book

2012-01-20T23:20:00.012+11:00

(posted with permission)

These delightful pop-graphics -- if I may so dub them -- were scanned by me from New York freelance illustrator Yuko Shimizu's first monograph, published by Gestalten in Berlin in 2011 [Amazon].

Yuko was kind enough to pass on a copy of this (very) handsome book recently. It features a comprehensive overview of her comicesque and culture-melding graphics (she's originally from Japan), produced over the last decade or so. It is a beautiful product and highly recommended.

Previously: Yuko's Progression from two years ago shows the evolution from sketch to final illustration in Yuko's work. There's also links to interviews and the like.