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  • Herold’s Exegesis, bound before three prints composing the top border (each 62 x 424 mm)
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Herold (Johannes Basilius), 1514-1567

Tabula Palatinorum Heroldi: a woodcut genealogical tree for Friedrich II der Weise (1482-1556) and Ottheinrich (1502-1559), prince electors of the Palatinate

Basel, Johann Oporinus, 1556
A spectacularly well-preserved monumental multi-block woodcut, printed on twenty-two large sheets, which when properly assembled as seven tiers of three sheets each, with three emblematical woodcuts joined to make the top border, form a picture surface of roughly 5.42 m2 (height × width: 420.5 × 129 cm, 165 × 51 in). Since their publication in 1556 the sheets have been contained in albums and have not suffered from damage caused by rolling or wall-mounting like other known impressions. The print is a family tree of the Wittelsbach dynasty over 1000 years, beginning with the Merovingian King Clovis I (466-511), and culminating with the Elector Palatine Friedrich II (1482-1556), and features 934 half-length portraits and coats of arms. On three sides is an integral border of arabesque ornament with 82 bust-length medallion portraits of Roman and Byzantine emperors and Sultan Suleiman the Great, each cut on a black ground. The wood blocks are signed by six draughtsmen or cutters: Jacob Clauser, David Kandel, Zacharias Specklin, Ieremias Wyssenbach, and two unidentified artists, one signing with the monogram HS with a pen or brush, the other with the monogram C with a cross and pen or brush. The project was begun at the command of Pfalzgraf Friedrich II (died 1556) but only completed at the urgent command of his successor Ottheinrich. Johannes Herold, who was entrusted with the task, published a small explanatory booklet, of which a copy has been bound in.

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Subjects
Genealogy and heraldry - Early works to 1800
Prints - Artists, German - Clauser (Jacob), 1520/1530-1578
Prints - Artists, German - Kandel (David), c. 1527-before 1596
Prints - Artists, German - Monogrammist HS, active 1556
Prints - Artists, German - Specklin (Zacharias), c. 1530-1576
Prints - Artists, German - Wyssenbach (Ieremias), active 1545-1558
Wittelsbach dynasty - Early works to 1800
Authors/Creators
Herold, Johannes Basilius, 1514-1567
Artists/Illustrators
Clauser, Jacob, 1520/1530-1578
Kandel, David, c. 1527-before 1596
Monogrammist HS, active 1556
Specklin, Zacharias, c. 1530-1576
Wyssenbach, Ieremias, active 1545-1558
Printers/Publishers
Oporinus, Johann, active 1536-1567
Owners
Crawford and Balcarres, David Alexander Robert Lindsay, Earl of, 1900-1975
Other names
Frederick II, Elector Palatine, 1482-1556
Otto Heinrich, Elector of the Palatinate, 1502-1559

Herold, Johannes Basilius
Höchstädt an der Donau 1514 – 1567 Basel

Tabula Palatinorum Heroldi: a woodcut genealogical tree for Friedrich ii der Weise (1482–1556) and Ottheinrich (1502–1559), prince electors of the Palatinate

Basel, Johann Oporinus, March 1556

monumental multi-block woodcut, here printed on twenty-two sheets, which when properly assembled as seven tiers of three sheets each, with three emblematical woodcuts joined to make a top border, form a picture surface of roughly 5.42 m2 (height × width: 420.5 × 129 cm, 165 × 51 in). Twenty-one sheets (each circa 62 × 46 cm) are centre-folded and mounted to binder’s guards; a single-sheet (30 × 46 cm) printed with three uncut emblematical woodcuts (intended for the top border) is edge-mounted on a guard at front of the volume.

The wood blocks1 are signed with the monograms of six draughtsmen or cutters: Jacob Clauser (1520/1530–1578),2 David Kandel (c. 1520–1592),3 Zacharias Specklin (c. 1530–1576),4 Ieremias Wyssenbach (fl. 1545–1558),5 and unidentified artists signing with the monograms hs with a pen or brush6 and c with a cross and pen or brush7 (no monogram seen in sheets 10, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21).

Bound with

Herold, Johannes Basilius
Höchstädt an der Donau 1514 – 1567 Basel

Exegesis, sive successionis Palatinae Francicae, vere illius Germanae & nobilissimae stirpis, à Ioanne Herold Hohstattensi delineatae, breuis ac succincta declaratio : in qua, ab ipso autore, quibus rationibus hoc opus susceptum, quo consilio editum, eiusque usus ostenditur.

Basel, Johann Oporinus, 8 April 1556

octavo (190 mm), (16) ff., signed A–B8 and paginated [1]–32. Mounted on binder’s guard at front of the volume.

provenance E.P. Goldschmidt & Company Ltd., pencil stockbook number #8928 and bookshop shelfmark A6 on pastedowns,8 offered in Goldschmidt’s Catalogue x: Rare and valuable books comprising manuscripts, early printed books, early medicine and science, xvith century presses, bibliography, London 1927, item 277, £90 – David Alexander Robert Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres (1900–1975; known as Lord Balniel from 1913 to 1940), endpaper inscribed in ink, Balniel 1928, three slips bearing his notes loosely inserted (one on his personal letter paper, another annotated Bt Goldschmidt)9 – Sotheby’s, Continental books and manuscripts, London, 4 December 2002, lot 64 (estimated £30,000–£40,000; bought-in at £24,000) – Christie’s, Valuable books and manuscripts, London, 1 December 2016, lot 120 (sold £15,000)

condition few minor repairs where sheets mounted on binder’s guards; occasional stain in margins, some discolouration in sheet [2]; one of the top border woodcuts trimmed by the binder’s knife; overall in extraordinary state of preservation. Binding edges worn, small loses at head and foot of the spine.

bound together in nineteenth-century tree sheep (47 × 34.5 cm), back lettered Herold et Clauser Genealogie Palatinorum. Basel 1556, red sprinkled edges.

Image

Tier 1, sheet [2]

This large format woodcut, printed on twenty-one sheets and when assembled measuring over four metres high, is a family tree of the Wittelsbach dynasty over 1000 years, beginning with the Merovingian King Clovis i (466–511), and culminating with the Elector Palatine Friedrich ii (1482–1556) and his wife Dorothea of Denmark. Also shown are the Bavarian and Palatine branches of the house (from Charlemagne to Charles v) and the Electors of the Rhineland Palatinate. Altogether, 934 half-length portraits and coats of arms are depicted.10 On three sides is an integral border of arabesque ornament featuring 82 bust-length medallion portraits of Roman and Byzantine emperors and Sultan Suleiman the Great, cut on a black ground (width 35 mm).11

In the bottom tier is an extensive landscape view, showing a fortified encampment and troop movements, and rivers and towns associated with the supposed founders of the house: the river Leye and Noyon (where Charlemagne was crowned in 768), the river Aisne and Soissons (where Clovis i defeated Syagrius in 486 and his early capital), the river Marne with Epernay and Reims, the river Meuse with Sittard and Roermond, and the Rhine with Cologne. At the base of the family tree is a scene of the baptism of Clovis i by Saint Remigius in 496; the camp and troops in the background allude to the battle against the Alemannics at Tolbiac (Zülpich), during which Clovis had resolved to convert to Christianity. In the centre is a fantastic creature with three crowned heads (frog, eagle, lion) and body of a man, supporting three sceptres and heraldic insignia.12

In the tier above are two cartouches of strapwork ornament: the one on the left features a portrait of Friedrich ii von der Pfalz, and a dedication to him by Herold, dated 1555, in which Wolfgang von Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1526–1569) and Ottheinrich von der Pfalz (1502–1559) are both mentioned; on the other side are six distichs addressed to Friedrich, within a frame incorporating his insignia and a battle scene between a Christian and a Turk.13

The prototypes for the print include manuscript portrait genealogies;14 genealogical tapes­tries, in which Ottheinrich had a particular interest;15 and large woodcut prints. Among the latter are a pedigree of the counts of Palatine and dukes of Bavaria with 237 portraits, exe­cuted by Hans Wurm (1501);16 the uncompleted tree of the Emperor Maximilian i, by Hans Burgkmair (1509–1512);17 the family tree in the centre and the left half of the ornamental framework of the Triumphal Arch of Maximilian i, by Hans Springinklee and Wolf Traut (1515–1517); a massive print, over seven metres in length, of Habsburg genealogy, by Robert Péril (1535);18 and the genealogies from Rudolph i to Charles v, by Jörg Breu the younger (1536–1538).19 The survival rate of all these imposing woodcuts is very poor.20

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Detail, sheet [2]
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Detail, sheet [3]
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Herold’s promotional pamphlet, or Exegesis, is here bound before the prints

The ‘Tabula Palatinorum’ was initiated by Herold in 1554. Some costs of the project were met by Friedrich ii and after his death (26 February 1556) by his successor Ottheinrich;21 additional finance was provided by Gabriel Frig (Frei),22 but the principal investor appears to have been Herold himself: in 1561 he complained that his losses in the venture amounted to 700 gulden.23

The first edition of the print has a publication line ‘Basileae, apud Ioannem Oporinum, anno Christi m.d.lvi mense martio’, printed outside the frame on the centre sheet of Tier 1.24 A thirty-two page Exegesis, sive Successionis Palatinæ Francicæ… succincta declaratio, dated by the printer Oporinus 8 April 1556,25 and the gift of a copy of the ‘Tabula’ from the Basel City Council to Henri ii of France, on 1 April 1556,26 confirm March 1556 as the date of first issue. More impressions were distributed in the autumn of 1556 and in 1557, including five sent to the court in Stuttgart, and a copy on vellum intended for Herzog Christoph von Württemberg (1515–1568).27 The publication in 1561 of a promotional pamphlet in German (dedicated to the new Elector Friedrich iii) suggests a reissue of the print about that date.28 Perhaps significantly, the work is not offered for sale in Oporinus’s stock catalogue of 1567.29

Image
Three blocks composing the top border (each 62 × 424 mm), their centres lettered with Friedrich ii’s motto De Coelo Victoria and distichs. The emblem lemmata are Germania victrix, efflorescens Germania, Germania concors.

In 1567, Oporinus sold his business to Balthasar Han and the brothers Hieronymus and Polykarp Gemusaeus. According to the bill of sale, the remaining copies and the woodblocks used for his edition of Vesalius, De humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome (1543), and for the ‘Pfalzgrevischen Stamtafeln’ were specifically excluded.30 The Vesalius blocks were sold on 4 October 1569 to Franciscus Martinus Stella of Brussels, but ended up in Basel in the Officina Frobeniana, where they remained until 1603, when they were acquired by Ludwig König of Basel.31 If the blocks for the Stammbaum also passed to the Froben family, they declined to reprint it under their name.

The Stammbaum blocks reappear in 1680 with Hans Caspar Ulrich (1636–1690), a captain in the service of the Electoral Palatinate, son of Hans Jakob Ulrich (1602–1668), one of the founders of the Zurich Burgerbibliothek (1629).32 He ordered them reprinted with the added legend Gaspar Ulrich de Zurich ao 1680 renovavit in the border; on 14 August 1681 an impression of the reprinted Stammbaum was presented by Hans Caspar to the Burgerbibliothek (now Zentralbibliothek). Another impression dated 1680 is in the Department of Prints and Drawings of the British Museum.

Provisional Census of Impressions

● Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Rijksprentenkabinet, RP-P-OB, 39.828-848 (loose sheets, not assembled; complete)33

● Basel, Historisches Museum, 1870.920 (assembled, backed on linen; complete)34

● Basel, Kunstmuseum, Kupferstichkabinett, Bi. I, 635 (loose sheets, incomplete; a later printing?)35

● Basel, Kunstmuseum, Kupferstichkabinett, X.2371 (coloured, assembled and mounted; complete)36

● Basel, Stadtarchiv37

● London, British Library, Tab. 539.b (roll)38

● London, British Library, 131.h5.14–24 (incomplete)39

● London, British Museum, Department of Prints & Drawings, 2005.U.103 (complete; dated 1680)40

● Middleburg, Zeeuwse Bibliotheek (formerly Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen te Vlissingen; Provinciale bibliotheek van Zeeland), apparently destroyed in 194041

● Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Codices iconographici monacenses 387 (uncoloured, assembled and backed on linen; complete)42

● Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Codices iconographici monacenses 388 (coloured, assembled and backed on linen; complete)43

● Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Graphische Sammlung, HB 10894a–10914, Kapsel 1355 (21 sheets, not assembled; complete; a later printing?)44

● Nürnberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Graphische Sammlung, HB 21.803 (coloured, assembled in three parts)45

● Princeton, Princeton University Library, RBD Large Format Basel 1556 (assembled, complete)46

● Rouen, Bibliothèque Municipale, Fonds Leber (within a bound recueil; apparently complete)47

● Zurich, Zentralbibliothek, Handschriftenabteilung (loose sheets, complete; edition dated 1680)48

● Unlocated – Paulus Behaim (1592‒1637)49

● Unlocated – Jean Baptiste Joseph Barrois (1784‒1855)50

Contents

Names in italics are lettered in the blocks; battlefields are marked in the print by Θ

sheet [1]
Image
Tier 1, sheet [1]
Image

Monograms of Ieremias Wyssenbach and Jacob Clauser in sheet [1]

■ Tier 1, sheet 1: landscape view representing towns associated with the supposed founders of the house: Noyon (Noviomvs), River Leye (Lysa, Fl. Loyse), Soissons (Soysson, Vessionvm), River Aisne (Isara, Fl. Aise), a fortified encampment, Θ Gwisen, and Clotilda, wife of Clovis and their son, witnessing the baptism of Clovis

Signed centre left with monograms of Clauser and Wyssenbach

sheet [2]
Image

Tier 1, sheet [2]

■ Tier 1, sheet 2: Θ Dvrmey, River Marne (Matrona, Fl. Marne), Reims (Θ Dvrocotervm Rens), Espernal (Asprenciacvm), River Maas (Meuse) (Die Mas), Sittard (Zitart), Roermond (Θ Rvrae Conflventes), Gelleren, at left of the base of the tree is a scene depicting the baptism of Clovis by St Remigius, in centre a fantastic figure (tricephalus) supporting an heraldic shield, at right a battle formation, and hanging on the trunk is an ornamental cartouche lettered with two inscriptions:

Above Klvgvndweys || Alias Clodovevs, Qvibvsdam || Lvdin, Sev Hlvdovicvs, Franco- || rvm Rex, Princeps Alemanorv || Avg. Cos. Patri. Rom. Vrbis. We- || st Gothorvm Victor. Re- || ligionis Francicæ Condit- || or Arianæ Impietatis. Ho || stis. Germanicæ Atq. A || Deò Ingenvitatis Orbis C || hristiani Totivs. Vnica Ve- || raq. Stirps. Ano Salv. 485.

Below Diethvld qvæ || Et Gotshvld, Avt Clotildis || Hilfreychi Bvrgvndiæ Regis F. || Concors Clodovei. Conivnx. Vt || À Remigio Pont Rhemen. Votire. || Rex. Lavacro Regenerationis L- || lvstraretvr. Sategit. Anno Grat- || iæ cccc. xcic.

Signed above the cartouche with monogram of Wyssenbach and below with monogram of Clauser

sheet [3]
Image
Tier 1, sheet [3]
Image

Monogram of Ieremias Wyssenbach in sheet [3]

Image

Monogram of Jacob Clauser in sheet [3]

■ Tier 1, sheet 3: Tongres (= Aduacam Tungrorum, Atvacvm), Zülpich (Θ Tolbacvm), Aachen, or Heeren? (Ach Coriovalvm), Gelduba (Gldvba), Ellebach (Fl. Dgelbach), Düren (Θ Marcodvrvm), Jülich (Ivliacvm), Silva Ivliac., Vbii (= Ara Ubiorum, capital of the Ubii tribe?), Vetera Castra (Castra Vetera), Cologne (Θ Colonia Agrippina), the River Rhine (Rhenvs), Neuss (Novesivm), Deutz (Divitense Mvnimentvm)

Signed with monograms of Clauser (in city wall of Cologne) and Wyssenbach (in river bank lower left, his monogram with 3 ·)

sheet [4]
Image
Tier 2, sheet [4]
Image
Monograms of Jacob Clauser and Zacharias Specklin in sheet [4]

■ Tier 2, sheet 4: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks, also a cartouche of strapwork ornament incorporating a portrait of Friedrich ii von der Pfalz, and a dedication to him by Herold, dated 1555:

D.D.D.D. Fridenreycho Rom. Imperii vīī Viro || Sacratiss. Germaniæ. Propvg: Fortiss. Pann || onico, Tvrcico Max. Imp. īī. Wolvffgango || Viro Principi Pientiss. Sapientiss. Q. Frbs. || Gerr. Æthoni Hoh Vnd Reycho Cog. Bo || no P.P. Pacificatori Reip. Iisdem Ex Fr. F. Ac || Nepoti Conivnctiss. Genti Vniversæ Præ || terea, Ex Magno Clodoveo Procreatæ Avt || In Stirpem Assertæ, Francor. Salior. Noric. || Boioarior. Ac. Pannon. Principp. Lavdatiss. || Patronis Clementiss. || Ioannes Herold (· Cvivs Natale Solvm || Hoechstæt, Ad Ripam Ab Notii Fl. Svevi || cam Sitvm Mvnicipivm, Principp Pala || tin. Amore et Indvstria Perennivm || Foeliciss. Gvbernatvr) Observant || iæ Ergò. Dev. P. Basileæ Ravracorvm. || Cal. Ian. Anno À Nato Iesv Christo || Salvatore mdlv.

Signed within frame of the cartouche with monograms of Clauser and Zacharias Specklin.51

sheet [5]
Image
Tier 2, sheet [5]
Image
Monograms of Jacob Clauser and Zacharias Specklin in sheet [5]

■ Tier 2, sheet 5: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monograms of Clauser and Specklin, lettered a lower right

sheet [6]
Image
Tier 2, sheet [6]

■ Tier 2, sheet 6: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks, also a cartouche featuring the arms of Wittelsbach with the collar of the Golden Fleece and a battle scene between a Christian and a Turk, lettered with six distichs:

Qvalis In Argolicas, Stricto Rvit Ense Cohortes, || Vectvs Anhelanti, Qvvm Fvit Hector Eqvo: || Talis et Elector, Sævvm Palatinvs in Hostem, || Christiadvm, Princeps Bis Tvlit Arma Pivs || Cvm Qvibvs, Intrepido Germanos Pectore Fidos || Propvgnans, Veræ Præmia Lavdis Habet. || Hvic Merito, Nomen Friderici Fata Dedere, || Nomine Qvod Pacis, Bella Secvtvs Erat || Is Qvoqve, Prægrandes Fecit, Germania, Svmptvs, || Floreat Vt Veteri Nobilitate Sva. || Ergo, Tvvm Stvdivm, Vivax Dvrabit in Annos || Perpetvos: Tantvm Res Pietas Q. Valent.

sheet [7]
Image
Tier 3, sheet [7]
Image
Monogram of Zacharias Specklin in sheet [7]

■ Tier 3, sheet 7: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monogram of Specklin (plus 4)

sheet [8]
Image
Tier 3, sheet [8]
Image
Monogramm of c with a cross and pen in sheet [8]
Image
B ij in sheet [8]

■ Tier 3, sheet 8: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monogram c with a cross and pen, lettered b ij lower right

sheet [9]
Image
Tier 3, sheet [9]
Image
Monogram of Zacharias Specklin with numeral 3 in sheet [9]

■ Tier 3, sheet 9: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed top right with monogram of Specklin (plus 3)

sheet [10]
Image
Tier 4, sheet [10]

■ Tier 4, sheet 10: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

sheet [11]
Image
Tier 4, sheet [11]
Image
Monogram of David Kandel in sheet [11]

■ Tier 4, sheet 11: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monogram of Kandel

sheet [12]
Image
Tier 4, sheet [12]
Image
Monogram of David Kandel in sheet [12]

■ Tier 4, sheet 12: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monogram of Kandel

sheet [13]
Image
Tier 5, sheet [13]
Image
Monogram of David Kandel in sheet [13]

■ Tier 5, sheet 13: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monogram of Kandel,

sheet [14]
Image
Tier 5, sheet [14]

■ Tier 5, sheet 14: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

sheet [15]
Image
Tier 5, sheet [15]
Image
Monogram of David Kandel in sheet [15]

■ Tier 5, sheet 15: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed with monogram of Kandel

sheet [16]
Image
Tier 6, sheet [16]
Image
Monogram of HS in sheet [16]

■ Tier 6, sheet 16: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed lower right with monogram hs

sheet [17]
Image
Tier 6, sheet [17]

■ Tier 6, sheet 17: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

sheet [18]
Image
Tier 6, sheet [18]
Image
Monogram of HS in sheet [18]

■ Tier 6, sheet 18: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

Signed in centre with monogram hs

sheet [19]
Image
Tier 7, sheet [19]
Image
Detail of sheet [19]: Lineage of the collateral line of Pfalz-Simmern. From left Francesco ii Sforza, Duke of Milan (1495–1535) with his wife Christina of Denmark (1521–1590), Massimiliano Sforza, Duke of Milan (1493–1530), ‘Ludowicus’ (Louis, Duke of Orléans, 1549–1550; presumably in error for Charles ix) and his brother Francis ii (1544–1560), King of France, Georg von Sponheim und Simmern (1518–1569) and his brother Richard von Sponheim und Simmern (1521–1598), and – shown at extreme left on sheet [20] – Friedrich iii von der Pfalz, der Fromme (1515–1576)

■ Tier 7, sheet 19: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks


sheet [20]
Image
Tier 7, sheet [20]
Image
Detail of sheet [20]: in the Centre Friedrich ii, der Weise, Kurfürst von der Pfalz (1482–1556) and his wife, Dorothea of Denmark (1520–1580). Left Georg, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein (1500–1504), ‘Aethoho Hundreych Bonus Palatinus’ (Ottheinrich, 1502–1559) and his brother ‘Philippus Bellicosus Turcicus’ (Philipp der Streitbare, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein und Herzog von Pfalz-Neuburg, 1503–1548), and Pfalzgraf Wolfgang von Simmern, Veldenz und Zweibrücken (1526–1569) with his wife Anna von Hessen (1529–1591). Right Joachim ii Hektor, Kurfürst von Brandenburg (1505–1571) and his wife ‘Dorothea’ [Hedwig Jagiellonica, 1513–1573], Wolfgang, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein (1494–1558), Eberhard, Herzog von Württemberg (1445–1496) and his brother Ludwig von Württemberg (1439–1457)

■ Tier 7, sheet 20: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

sheet [21]
Image
Tier 7, sheet [21]
Image
Detail of sheet [21]: From left Sigismund i of Poland (1467–1548) and his wife Barbara Zápolya (1495–1515), Kurfürst August von Sachsen (1526–1586) with his wife Anna of Denmark (1532–1585), Johann Friedrich ii, Herzog von Sachsen (1529–1595) with his wife Agnes von Hessen (1527–1555), the infant Johann (1538–1539) und his brother Erzherzog Ferdinand ii (1529–1595), Karl (1540–1590) and Maximilian ii (sons of Ferdinand i and Anna Jagiello von Böhmen und Ungarn); beside the border, ‘Carolus Hispaniarum Rex’ (Don Carlos, 1445–1568, son of Philipp ii of Spain and Maria Manuela of Portugal)

■ Tier 7, sheet 21: woodcut genealogical tree with captions cut in the blocks

references Andreas Burckhardt, Johannes Basilius Herold: Kaiser und Reich im protestantischen Schrifttum des Basler Buchdrucks um die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Basel 1967), pp.173–193; Martin Steinmann, Johannes Oporinus: Ein Basler Buchdrucker um die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Basel 1967), pp.112–113; F.W.H. Hollstein, German engravings, etchings and woodcuts 1400–1700. Vol. 15b, Balthasar Jenichen to David Kandel, compiled by Robert Zijlma (Blaricum [1986]), p.220 no. 3; F.W.H. Hollstein, German engravings, etchings and woodcuts 1400–1700. Vol. 74, Zacharias Specklin to Hans Ulrich Stampfer ii, compiled by Dieter Beaujean (Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel 2008), pp.4–8 no. 1

1. Most sheets are printed by two blocks, measuring 19/20 × 58.5 and 24 × 58.5 cm respectively; other sheets appear to be printed from a single block. The number of individual blocks is counted as 42 by Robert Zijlma (in F.W.H. Hollstein, German engravings, etchings and woodcuts 1400–1700. Vol. 15b, Balthasar Jenichen to David Kandel, Blaricum [1986], p.220 no. 3) and by Dieter Beaujean (in F.W.H. Hollstein, German engravings, etchings and woodcuts 1400–1700. Vol. 74, Zacharias Specklin to Hans Ulrich Stampfer ii, Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel 2008, pp.4–8 no. 1).

2. Observed in sheets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Neue deutsche Biographie (Berlin 1975), iii, pp.270–271 (online); Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon (Munich & Leipzig 1998), xix, p.456; Die Amerbachkorrespondenz, x/2. Die Briefe aus den Jahren 1556–1558, edited by Beat Rudolph Jenny (Basel 1991), pp.724–727. Plazidus Hartmann, ‘Stammbuch und Liber Amicorum der Brüder Johann Kaspar und Renward Göldlin von Tiefenau’ in Stultifera navis: Mitteilungsblatt der Schweizerischen Bibliophilen-Gesellschaft 10 (1953), p.96, credits Clauser for the design of sheets 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, 18; according to the Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, 19 (Munich & Leipzig 1998), six blocks are signed by Clauser.

3. Observed in sheets 11, 12, 13, 15. Hollstein, op. cit., xvb, p.220 no. 3 (observing the monogram of Kandel also in sheet 10).

4. Observed in sheets 4, 5, 7, 9. Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, pp.4–8 no. 1. The impression reproduced is the 1680 reprint, with imprint gaspar ulrich de zurich ao 1680 renovavit lettered in lower border. The top border, composed of three emblematical woodcuts, is not shown.

5. Observed in sheets 1, 2, 3. The monogram (read as both hb and hwb) was formerly associated with Hans Bocksberger the Elder and Hans Blum; it is now recognized as denoting Ieremias Wyssenbach (Hieronymus [Wyssenbach] Basiliensis). His slow work on these blocks caused Wyssenbach to be placed under house arrest on 15 December 1555 for twelve weeks (Die Amerbachkorrespondenz, x /1, op. cit., pp.230–231 note 7).

6. Observed in sheets 16, 18. Identified by Andreas Burckhardt, Johannes Basilius Herold: Kaiser und Reich im protestantischen Schrifttum des Basler Buchdrucks um die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Basel 1967), p.175 note 108, with Hans Schäufelein the Younger (circa 1515–1582), although that artist customarily signs with a shovel, not a pen or brush. See G.K. Nagler, Die Monogrammisten (Munich 1863), iii, pp.582–584; Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, edited by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker (Leipzig 1935), xxxix, p.561.

7. The monogram c with a cross and pen or brush is observed in sheet 8 only. It was read by Hans Koegler as cm and tentatively identified with Conrad Morant (Schwebel), a Formschneider born c. 1510 at Basel (Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, op. cit., xvii, p.68).

8. According to the E.P. Goldschmidt stockbook ([volume 3], [entries] 6227–9329 12 December 1923–21 April 1927, f. 84; in Library of the Grolier Club, New York, link), this volume was purchased on 4 October 1926 from the booksellers K.W. Hiersemann of Leipzig, for £41 7s, and sold on 19 January 1927 to Lord Balniel for £90.

9. Also inserted is a signed autograph letter from Campbell Dodgson, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum (20 January 1927), to Lord Balniel, stating: ‘The Wittelsbach pedigree in the Dept. of Printed Books [now British Library, Tab. 539.b] is the same edition as yours, but not in such “mint” state. The 8vo pamphlet is bound up with other books. The big woodcut is mounted on a wooden roller, and has the three strips of ornament with “De Coelo Victoria’ placed along the top in the position which we calculated they ought to occupy. I am glad to have had my attention called to this, and now return your volume with thanks for letting me see it’.

10. The count ‘934’ is in Vorstenportretten uit de eerst helft van de 16de eeuw: houtsneden als propaganda, catalogue of an exhibition in the Rijksprentenkabinet, by A.J. Klant-Vlielander Hein and Dieuwke de Hoop Scheffer (Amsterdam 1972), p.33; see also Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, p.5.

11. Christian E. Dekesel, Bibliotheca nummaria: bibliography of 16th century numismatic books (London 1997), p.480, identifies the medallions as re-cuttings of illustrations in Jacopo de Strada’s Epitome (1553, et seq.).

12. For an interpretation of this imagery, and its likely sources, see Burckhardt, op. cit., pp.184–185; and Vorstenportretten, op. cit., pp.33–34.

13. Compare the incipit of Publius Faustus Andrelinus’s Elegia vi: Qualis in argolicas stricto ruit ense cohortes, vectus Anthelanti, cū foret Hector equo (Elegie, Paris circa 1505; link).

14. See for example, two late 15th-century rolls depicting Bavarian and Pfalz-Bavarian rulers (738 and 380 cm in length), in Wittelsbach und Bayern; 1/2. Die Zeit der frühen Herzöge von Otto i. zu Ludwig dem Bayern: Katalog der Ausstellung auf der Burg Trausnitz in Landshut, 14. Juni–5. Oktober 1980, edited by Hubert Glaser (Munich 1980), pp.26–27 nos. 30–31.

15. Hans Rott, ‘Ott Heinrich und die Kunst’ in Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Heidelberger Schlosses 5 (1905), p.41 and pls. i–iv; Von Kaisers Gnaden: 500 Jahre Pfalz-Neuburg, catalogue of an exhibition, edited by Suzanne Bäumler, Evamaria Brockhoff and Michael Henker (Augsburg 2005), pp.40–41 no. 2.8.

16. Two impressions of the twelve-sheet print are known (dimensions overall 161 × 93.5 cm); see Campbell Dodgson, Catalogue of early German and Flemish woodcuts preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum (London 1903–1911), ii, p.263; Von Kaisers Gnaden, op. cit., p.40 no. 2.8 (impression in the Bayerische Nationalmuseum, NN 1001).

17. Paul Geissler, ‘Hans Burgkmairs Genealogie Kaiser Maximilians i: Zu diesem Augsburger Fund’ in Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 1965, pp.249–261, with a review of earlier literature and locations of the proof impressions.

18. Five complete impressions are known to survive; see Eva Irblich, in Thesaurus Austriacus: Europas Glanz im Spiegel der Buchkunst, Handschriften und Kunstalben von 800 bis 1600 (Vienna 1996), pp.155–162 (ÖNB Vienna; formerly with H.P. Kraus, Catalogue 121: Illustrated Books from the xvth & xvith Centuries, New York [1968], item 74), and ‘The genealogical tree of the house of Habsburg’ in Women of distinction: Margaret of York, Margaret of Austria, edited by Dagmar Eichberger (Davidsfonds [2005]), pp.80–81 no. 15 (Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin). An impression (version with French text) was acquired by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in 2007 (link; ex-Librairie Valette, Nouvelle acquisitions: quelques livres choisis pour leur rareté, leur intérêt, leur condition ou leur provenance, Paris 2007, item 2, €135,000).

19. F.W.H. Hollstein, The new Hollstein: German engravings, etchings and woodcuts, 1400–1700: Jörg Breu the Elder and Jörg Breu the Younger, compiled by Guido Messling (Ouderkerk aan den Ijssel 2008), pp.233–236 nos. 30–31.

20. See the account of ‘mural woodcuts’ in David Landau and Peter Parshall, The Renaissance print, 1470–1550 (New Haven & London 1994), pp.231–237; also Mark P. McDonald, The print collection of Ferdinand Columbus (1488–1539): a Renaissance collector in Seville (London 2004), i, pp.111–112 (‘Sizes of prints that no longer survive’), 162–164.

21. A payment to Herold of 400 gulden was ordered by Friedrich ii on 1 January 1556; see Hans Rott, ‘Zu den Kunstbestrebungen des Pfalzgrafen Ott Heinrichs’ in Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Heidelberger Schlosses 6 (1912), pp.212–213, 231–232.

22. Rott, op. cit. (1912), p.232; Burckhardt, op. cit., p.189.

23. Burckhardt, op. cit., p.189.

24. Two other impressions with this imprint are known to the writer, in Kunstmuseum Basel (X.2371) and Historisches Museum Basel; it either is trimmed away on the others, or they are later printings. See Hollstein, op. cit., xvb, p.220 and Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, p.6.

25. Four copies of the rare pamphlet are located by the Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts (VD 16), H2541; another (British Library copy) is added by the Universal short-title catalogue (USTC), 655230; and three more (Basel, Bern, Zurich) are located by WorldCat. The copy in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek has been digitised (link).

26. Rott, op. cit. (1912), p.232; Burckhardt, op. cit., p.176.

27. Burckhardt, op. cit., p.176 note 116; Die Amerbachkorrespondenz, x /1, op. cit., pp.230–231 note 7.

28. Johannes Basilius Herold, Bericht und kurtzbegriffne erläuterung der Geburtstafel, oder sipp, mag und öhm stammens des löblichsten Churfürstlichen Hauses der Pflaltz bei Rhein, und yetz lebenden andern jhrer zugewandten eingeleybten Fürstlichen Gschlechten, von dem vhralten der Edlen Francken herkommen, entspiessende (Basel: Johann Oporinus, 1 June 1561). VD16 H 2540. The copy in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek has been digitised (link).

29. The catalogue lists about 750 titles, of which about fifty are marked with a cross (†) as unavailable: Librorum per Ioannem Oporinvm partim excusorum hactenus, partim in eiusdem officina uenalium, index: singulis ad ordinem alphabeticum redactis, & adiecta impressionis forma (Basel: Johann Oporinus, 1567); only the 1561 Bericht is offered (p.11; link: digitised copy in Staatliche Bibliothek Regensburg).

30. Basel, Universitätsbibliothek, C via 43 855–864, published by Martin Steinmann, ‘Aus dem Briefwechsel des Basler Druckers Johannes Oporinus’ in Basler Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Altertumskunde 69 (1969), pp.201–202: ‘…Zum dryzehenden hat im auch Oporinus in disem kauf vorbehalten die Pfalzgrevischen Stamtafeln sampt den formen darzu gehörende. Und sollen die keuffer und ir erben dieselbigen Tabulas mit vleis auch wie andere seine bucher, so er vom sein fünften theil bekommen wirt, verkauffen und verrechnen, und darvon für uncosten mug und sorg nemmen eins von fünffen, alles sonst iedergstalt hievor im zehenden articul geordnet. Und so soliche stamtafeln also von inen den Keuffern oder sonst dem Verkeuffer nit vertriben, noch auch die Formen darzu gehorende by seinem leben von im verkauft [struck-out: oder durch die Pfaltzgrevischen seines costens, so er deren halb erlitten, ergetzt wurde] wurden, sollen gemelte Pfaltzstammen tafeln, so vil deren zu zyt des Verkeuffers absterben und auch die Formen so die noch wie gsagt vorhanden, den Herren Keuffern und iren erben frei geschenckt sein, und inen von verkeuffers erben ubergeben werden.’

31. Frank Hieronymus, Basler Buchillustration 1500–1545, catalogue of an exhibition held in the Universitätsbibliothek Basel, 31 March–30 June 1984 (Basel [1984]), p.650. Johann Oporinus had died on 7 July 1568.

32. Allgemeine deutsche Biographie (Munich & Leipzig 1875–1912), xxxix, p.249.

33. Dimensions overall 424 × 131 cm. Vorstenportretten, op. cit., pp.33–34 (not illustrated); Hollstein, op. cit., xvb, p.220; Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, p.5.

34. Dimensions overall 420 × 132 cm. Historisches Museum Basel, Katalog der Mittelalterlichen Sammlung zu Basel (Basel 1888), p.16 no. 186: ‘Stammbaum Chlodwigs, Holzschnitt, Druck von Johannes Oporinus zu Basel, 1556’ (link). Further details provided by Dr. Raphael Beuing, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Kunsthistorische Abteilung, Historisches Museum Basel, Steinenberg 4, CH-4051 Basel.

35. According to Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, p.5 ‘incomplete, comprises 17 single sheets, probably later’.

36. Probably the second of two impressions listed in the inventories of Basilius Amerbach’s collection; see Paul Ganz and Emil Major, ‘Die Entstehung des Amerbach’schen Kunstkabinets und die Amerbach’schen Inventare’ in Jahresbericht der öffentlichen Kunstsammlung in Basel, N.F. 3 (1907), p.48 (‘Inventar D, 1586’): ‘Item tabula Palatinorum Heroldi vfzogen’ (link); p.67 (‘Inventar G, 1662’): ‘12. Der Pfälzische Stammbaum, 21 ½ regal Bogen, sambt allerhand außgeschnittenen Kupfern auß Büchern. Item 22 Holzstukh vnd Hs. Holb. Biblisch Figuren zerstikhlet’ (link) and p.68 ‘In einem Langen Tröglin. Erstlich der Chur-Pfältzische Stammbaum auff Thuch gezogen’ (link). See also Das Amerbach-Kabinett: Beiträge zu Basilius Amerbach, catalogue of an exhibition held in the Kunstmuseum, 21 April–21 July 1991 (Basel 1991), p.149 and p.164 note 110 (Inventory D); pp.186, 193, 198 note 116 (Inventory G).

37. Rott, op. cit. (1912), p.213: ‘Ich fand ein vollständiges Exemplar dieses Monstrestammbaums in dem Stadtarchiv zu Basel…’.

38. Short-title catalogue of books printed in the German-speaking countries and of German books printed in other countries from 1455 to 1600 now in the British Museum, compiled by A.F. Johnson and Victor Scholderer (London 1962), p.400 (q.v. Heroldt, Klugundweys alias Clodoveus). The item is designated ‘mislaid’ in the Library’s opac (accessed 12 December 2016).

39. Sheets 4, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, and the right-hand sheet of the top border only. George Gatfield, Guide to printed books and manuscripts relating to English and foreign heraldry and genealogy (London 1892), p.575 (link); Dekesel, op. cit., p.480 no. h10.

40. Dimensions overall 423 × 126.7 cm. Lettered in the ornamental border gaspar ulrich de zurich ao 1680 renovavit. Described on British Museum collection database (link).

41. Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen te Vlissingen, Catalogus der Bibliotheek van het Zeeuwsch Genootschap der Wetenschappen (Middelburg 1864) p.35 no. 368 (copy of Exegesis, ‘Met de geslachttafel. De twee bovengenoemde werken in één band’; link); Provinciale bibliotheek van Zeeland, Catalogus van de Provinciale bibliotheek van Zeeland. Tweede Deel. Tweede Stuk. Hulpwetenschappen der Geschiedenis (Middelburgh 1907), p.573 (Exegesis, ‘Met de geslachtstafel. Met het voorg. in één band’). The loss of the volume is confirmed by Marinus Bierens, Conservator oude drukken en bijzondere collecties, Zeeuwse Bibliotheek te Middelburg (private communication, 12 December 2016).

42. Dimensions overall 415 × 126 cm. Marianne Reuter, ‘Beschreibung der Handschrift Cod. icon. 387’ in BSB-CodIcon Online: Elektronischer Katalog der Codices iconographici monacenses der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München (link).

43. Dimensions overall 460 × 129 cm. This copy has an additional (8th) tier in manuscript, depicting members of the family from 1556 to circa 1603; see Marianne Reuter, ‘Beschreibung der Handschrift Cod. icon. 388’ in BSB-CodIcon Online: Elektronischer Katalog der Codices iconographici monacenses der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München (link).

44. Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, p.5: ‘probably later prints’. Five sheets have watermark ihs (communication from Dr. Claudia Valter, Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, Graphische Sammlung, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg, 28 March 2010). Kulturdokumente Norddeutschlands, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Westfalens: Leihgaben des Germanischen National-Museums in Nürnberg, catalogue of an exhibition in Karl-Ernst-Osthaus-Museum, Hagen, edited by Fritz Zink (Hagen 1957), no. 160 (HB 10896 exhibited); Vorstenportretten, op. cit., p.33.

45. Hollstein, op. cit., lxxiv, p.5: ‘coloured, cut in three parts’.

46. Assembled, dimensions overall 415 × 126 cm (image). Provenance: Hartung & Hartung, Auktion 127: Wertvolle Bücher, Manuskripte, Autographen, Munich, 8 November 2010, lot 1190 – Robin Halwas Limited, London – Bruce McKittrick Rare Books, Narberth, PA.

47. Catalogue des livres imprimés, manuscrits, estampes, dessins et cartes a jouer composant la bibliothèque de M. C. Leber (Paris 1839), iii, p.2 no. 5062: ‘in-fol. max., v. br. Cet ouvrage de Jean Herold est rare et fort peu connu en France: il comprend 7 grandes pièces, de 3 pieds sur 2…’ (link). Leber’s collection was presented to the Bibliothèque municipale, Rouen, in 1838; it is not possible to ascertain from the library’s opac whether the print is there still. Cf. Joannis Guigard, Bibliothèque Héraldique de la France (Paris 1861), p.145 no. 1680 (locating print in Rouen; link).

48. Bruno Weber, ‘Genealogie der Pfälzer von J.B. Herold im Vestibül der Graphischen Sammlung [Zentralbibliothek Zürich] vom 8 Februar–11 März 1972’ (departmental ‘Informationblatt’, supplied to the writer by Dr. phil. Alexa Renggli, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Handschriftenabteilung, Zähringerplatz 6, CH-8001 Zürich).

49. The Nuremberg patrician Paulus Behaim in 1618 drew up an inventory of his collection of prints (Berlin Kupferstichkabinett, Inv. No. 79 C.32J); according to the recent transcription, the inventory entry reads: ‘Johannes Heroldvs Genealogia Electors Palatinors, a Clodovco Francor Rege, V [?] ad Friderico Pium [?] (…). Vf 21 Regalbög’ (Jasper Kettner, Vom Beginn der Kupferstichkunde: Druckgraphik als eigenständige Kunst in der Sammlung Paulus Behaims (1592–1637), PhD dissertation, Freien Universität Berlin, 2013, p.300, link).

50. Maison Silvestre, Catalogue de livres provenant de la librairie de M. Barrois l’ainé: Deuxième partie, 28 June–26 July 1838, p.163 no. 2181: ‘Klugundweys alias Clodoveus quibusdam ludin, seu h. Ludovicus Francoxum rex, princeps Alemanorum, etc., unica veraque stirps anno salutis 485, etc. Basileae, 1556, in-fol. fig. v. br’ (link).

51. Specklin (Speckle, Speckli) was born in Strassburg and became a burgher of Basel in 1556; in 1558 he was admitted to the Saffron Guild, and died at Basel in 1576.

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