as a worldwide unique collector’s item
Ridinger, Johann Elias (Ulm 1698 – Augsburg 1767). The Fair Game Hounded by the Different Kinds of Hounds. With annotations how such are hunted, attacked, catched, held fast, brought down, and partly throttled by them … presented and edited by Johann Elias Ridinger painter and engraver, director of the Augsburg Academy, too, in the year 1761. Set of 22 sheets.
Engraved title with large vignette of a boar-hunt
+
21 etchings with engraving
(28.4-28.8 x 24.8-25.3 cm) in the mixed technique of etching + engraving typical for Ridinger and his time.
Ruby red morocco
with 4 imitated ribs, 2 dark green back-plates, gilt bipartite title on the front + reduced Ridinger stag from the Evening (Th. 240) of The Stag’s Times of the Day on the back cover, gilt lines on both, and ridinger handlung niemeyer (ridinger gallery niemeyer) on the inner front cover below, all in 23.5 carat,
in homogeneous cassette
with
– traced back here far beyond Thieme-Becker (vol. XXVIII, 1933, p. 308) seamlessly directly to the master’s estate itself and therewith correcting Thienemann (1856) who declared the plates of this set as being deprived – the
original printing-plate to the title
in reverse (28.6 x 25.5 cm) as removable solitaire laid into the front cover under polycarbonate glass (more resistant to aging + UV light than Plexiglas, but equally sensitive to scratches). Above the artist’s name and below the hall mark as uniqueness
– Le Grand Exemplaire –
and on the inner front cover ridinger handlung niemeyer, all gilt-tooled as before.
Thienemann + Schwarz 139-160; Weigel, Kunstlager-Cat., XXVIII, 13 A (?, perhaps intermediate state, of A-C); Nagler 16; Coppenrath pt. II, 1464; Schwerdt III (1928), 137 (“An interesting series”). – Illustrations: Schwarz I, plt. VIII; Stubbe, Ridinger, 1966, plts. 14-16; Ridinger Cat. Kielce, 1997, pp. 38-41.
Copy of absolutely uniformly fine printing quality ,
most wide-margined sheet-size of 54.5-56 x 36.5-38 cm ,
coming from an old extensive collection ,
what means,
three sides uncut
with the original laid paper edges (sic!) ,
while before binding the left-sided clean cut with practically nevertheless the full 6 cm margin like on the right let think that two sheets each may have been printed on one sheet of paper being in accordance with the size of Ridinger’s largest prints, Th. 67/68, printed from one plate. In the absence of any traces of tacks and marbling the set was obviously never bound. Only the title, printed differently on especially buff laid paper, cut also on top and so with only 53 cm a little shorter.
For comparison :
Schwerdt’s copy reached with only 44.5 x 29.8 cm already the top of its boar-spike !
Isolated typographic watermarks. – Outer margins of the title slightly smudgy and right-sided somewhat teared. Three sheets with original small defects in a outermost marginal corner. Slight trace of squeezing in the white outer margin of XI, a smoothed diagonal fold in left and lower margin touching still the outermost white corner of the plate and a further one, confined to the outer white upper margin, in XII. The general squeezing of the paper of VII predominantly confined on the right half and here noticeable somewhat disturbingly only out of the subject.
Contents :
The European Bison – The Bear (“there is a good engraving of a bear fighting with hounds, pl. 14”, Stubbe) – The Elk – The Red Stag – The Wild Sow or Boar – The Wolf – The White Fir-Stag (Fallow-Deer) – The Wild Swan (“surely the rarer Whooper Swan”) – The Lynx – The Reindeer – The Roe – The Chamois – The Fox – The Beaver – The Otter – The Wildcat – The Hare – The Badger – The Marten – The Polecat, Squirrel and Weasel – Wild Ducks .
Thienemann :
“ Thus a theme with 21 variations … What a variety, what a truth in the expression of emotions! Yes, indeed, he is in fact an animal mind-painter. Hence his works speak to us so exceedingly, hence we cannot take our eyes off them, hence he sticks … always new, valuable and esteemed … One of the later works of Ridinger, but completely done himself alone … ”
On top the figuration closed in an arch. – With 9-13-line subtext as well to the game itself as to selection + action of the different races of its assailants. In this instructiveness quite in the sense of Stubbe, who quotes in respect of the Par force Hunting as a further late work (p. 30):
“ … and their subtexts … bring together the pleasant satisfaction
which good informations, developed thoroughly, can give .
A life full of hunting experience ,
a knowledge, earned in many years by conceivable alert attention, of the causes and considerations which lead to the single steps and hunting practices qualify the artist to define all kinds of hunting
not only after their execution ,
but especially out of their reasons .
This happens … in all shortness … the limited space under the subjects come up to intensive, but easily understandable annotations in engraved writing. ”
And so it is satisfaction and joy here together to be able to lay before anew this
textually as optically so splendid homage on our hounds –
“ The care of the hounds let be highly recommended to you
out of dark lair you will drive surely a wild boar by their cries! ”
( subtext of the title-vignette ) –
after the copies of the Luza collection, Amsterdam, (1982) and within the second of the two Pompadour volumes of the Marjoribanks Folios sold here in 1998 resp., but in company with the original plate of the title and the widemarginedness crowned by being uncut on three sides as
a truly
grand et unique exemplaire de luxe
for elitist placing. As a provocatingly exclusive sovereign eye-catcher, enviedly reflecting the noblesse of the house.
That the printing-plate was
worked by the master himself alone
shall be mentioned expressly. Sheltered from tarnishing by fine application of varnish the plate is printable generally in the ordinary course of its use during the times, but no guarantee for its final printing quality. Quite irrespectively of this, however, you should have a look fully imbued with inner touch at
this incomparable
on account of its beauty as a Gesamtkunstwerk ,
a synthesis of the arts ,
again and again.
Offer no. 28,822 / price on request
