Lot 1168
1168
SWITZERLAND -- HENTZI, R., (ed.). Vues remarquables des montagnes de la Suisse. Amst., J. Yntema, 1785. (12), 12 text-pp. W. engr. front. printed in bistre, letterpress ti., engr. headpiece & 30 (of 40 (42?)) colour-printed engr. views by Descourtis, Janinet, a.o. after Wolf, Rosenberg, a.o., each with coat-of-arms and dedicatory caption, w. tissue guards. Loose as issued in or. h. vellum publisher's portfol. w. ties & uncut. Lge-fol. (Portfol. worn, ties partly broken, frontispiece a bit foxing, a few tears on plate-edges, margins of 4 plates a bit stained (slightly affecting image area), some unobtrusive marginal foxing).
One of the earliest and rarest Alpine plate books with plates by Jean François Janinet (1752-1814) and Charles Melchior Descourtis (1753-1820), masters of the new colour-printing technique, the majority after the Swiss artist, Caspar Wolf (1735-1798). Wagner of Bern started preparing the series in 1779, but on his death in 1782 only 24 plates were reportedly ready. These were sold to Hentzi in 1785, who commissioned another 18 plates from Descourtis to complete the series. The present copy lacks Landwehr's plates 4, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 31, 35, 36. Cohen-de Ricci notes that most copies contain only 40 plates, which is also the number called for by Landwehr. - Landwehr, Bks w. cold. plates, 307; Lonchamp, 3197; Cohen/De Ricci, 485: 'recueil fort rare'.€ 4000
result € 4000
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