Magnificentiores Selectioresque Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus quos olim Michael Marieschi Venetus pictor, et architectus in plerisque tabulis depinxit. Nunc vero ab ipsomet acurate delineante, incidente, tijpisque mandante, iterum in sexdecim aereis tabulis in lucem æduntur. Venetijs MDCCXLI cum Excettmi: Senatus permissu ac priuil: Venduntur in uico Sancti Lucae apud eundem Auctorem Venetijs
A magnificent, broad-margined copy (500 × 673 mm) of Marieschi’s etchings of Venice, a consistent set of early impressions, some with the faintly inscribed guide lines for alignment of the lettering still visible. The author of the latest catalogue raisonné of Marieschi’s prints, Federico Montecuccoli degli Erri, associates this feature (‘la doppia riga di allineamento dei relative caratteri’) with the first impressions off the press (‘le tirature precoci’), and on the collateral evidence of watermarks and binding, he conjectured that our set was printed in 1743–1744 (‘sicuramente non posteriore agli inizi del 1744’). The upper cover of the binding is stamped in the centre with the large gilt arms block of Lovisa Ulrika (1720–1782), Crown Princess and later Queen of Sweden (1751–1771). The binder, Christoffer Schneidler (1721–1787), subsequently became the court bookbinder.
sold
- Subjects
- Book illustration - Artists, Italian - Marieschi, Michele Giovanni, 1696-1743
- Book illustration - Italy, 1701-1800 - Venice
- Printing - Italy, 1701-1800 - Venice
- Prints - Artists, Italian - Marieschi (Michele Giovanni), 1696-1743
- Authors/Creators
- Marieschi, Michele Giovanni, 1696-1743
- Artists/Illustrators
- Marieschi, Michele Giovanni, 1696-1743
sheet dimensions 490 × 660 mm
Marieschi, Michele
Venice 1710 – 1743 Venice
Magnificentiores Selectioresque Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus quos olim Michael Marieschi Venetus pictor, et architectus in plerisque tabulis depinxit. Nunc vero ab ipsomet acurate delineante, incidente, tijpisque mandante, iterum in sexdecim aereis tabulis in lucem æduntur. Venetijs mdccxli cum Excettmi: Senatus permissu ac priuil: Venduntur in uico Sancti Lucae apud eundem Auctorem Venetijs.
Venice [after 1743]
oblong folio (500 × 673 mm), (22) folios, comprising etched title-plate, dedication-plate, and twenty etched views, in first states; a homogenous set on sheets of uniform dimension (490 × 660 mm); the title-plate designed and etched by Marieschi himself, with his portrait (only) designed by Angelo Trevisani and etched by Carlo Orsolini (signed beneath the portrait Anzolo Trivisan Deliniaui. | Carlo Orsolini scupis); the other plates designed and etched by Marieschi himself (signed in bottom right corner Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.), with probable contributions by another hand (see below).
watermarks the individual letters A, S, Z (observed on various sheets in this copy by Federico Monteccuoli degli Erri).1 Binder’s endpapers: Strasbourg Lily on a shield with a horned crown, a bell suspended below (155 × 70 mm); countermark iv (see Figs. 6–7 below).
provenance Lovisa Ulrika (1720–1782), Queen of Sweden (1751–1771) — ‘Property of a Gentleman’, consigned to Forum Auctions, ‘Fine Books and Works on Paper’, London, 13–14 July 2016, lot 343.
The etchings are clearly and cleanly printed from plates in which the etching itself is fresh and shows little sign of wear. In excellent condition, free of staining or deterioration of the paper, never washed or pressed. Several insignificant marks on covers of the binding; overall an immaculate copy.
bound in contemporary light brown calf by Christoffer Schneidler (1721–1787), for Lovisa Ulrika, Crown Princess (1744–1751) and Queen of Sweden (1751–1771), the upper cover decorated in gold by a large armorial block combining the insignia of Sweden (three Royal crowns) and of Prussia (eagle holding a sceptre and orb, charged with the monogram fr for Frederick i, King of Prussia), with a Lion and a Wild Man as supporters (90 × 85 mm); three Royal crowns from single tools in each corner; a broad border created by repetition of shell and oriental tulip tools; the lower cover similarly decorated (but without armorial block); the back divided into nine compartments by raised bands, each uniformly decorated in gilt by individual tools (including a drawer-handle tool), except in the second where a red goatskin lettering-piece is applied (Venetiarum prospectus ab Michael Marieschi); combed marbled endpapers (Dutch pattern); red page edges.
A magnificent, broad-margined copy of Marieschi’s etchings of Venice, a consistent set of early impressions, some with the faintly inscribed guide lines for alignment of the lettering still visible. The author of the latest catalogue raisonné of Marieschi’s prints, Federico Montecuccoli degli Erri, associates this feature (‘la doppia riga di allineamento dei relative caratteri’) with the first impressions off the press (‘le tirature precoci’), and on the collateral evidence of watermarks and binding, he conjectured that our set was printed in 1743–1744 (‘sicuramente non posteriore agli inizi del 1744’).2
The upper cover of the binding is stamped in the centre with the large gilt arms block of Lovisa Ulrika (1720–1782), Crown Princess and later Queen of Sweden (1751–1771). The daughter of Frederick William i of Prussia and his wife Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Lovisa Ulrika had been escorted from Berlin to Sweden for her marriage in 1744 by the Swedish envoy count Carl Gustaf Tessin (1695–1770). Tessin was later granted many favours: he was appointed in 1745 Lord Steward of the Royal Court, in 1747 President of the Chancellery (i.e. Prime Minister), and in 1749 governor of her son prince Gustav; his wife, and his wife’s niece, became the Crown Princess’s maids of honour. A prodigious collector, Tessin advised Lovisa Ulrika and her consort Adolf Fredrik (1710–1771), heir to the Swedish throne, on the purchase of works of art for their new residence, Drottningholm Palace, and in 1749 – when faced by financial ruin – Tessin sold to Adolf Fredrik his own collections of prints and drawings.3 It is possible therefore that Carl Gustaf Tessin was the previous owner of this set of Marieschi’s etchings, and that its source was the Parisian dealer-connoisseur Pierre-Jean Mariette, who had guided Tessin in the formation of those collections.4
The binding was executed by Christoffer Schneidler (1721–1787), the son of a German immigrant bookbinder, Abraham Schneidler (1691–1749; master 1714–1749).5 Christoffer Schneidler was admitted to the Stockholm bookbinders’ guild on 11 June 1746, submitting as his masterpiece a binding on a folio German Bible (Nuremberg 1736).6 In 1747, he bound on behalf of Tessin a Christmas gift for Lovisa Ulrika.7 Schneidler seems to have begun working for Lovisa Ulrika soon thereafter, and on 8 January 1754 he was appointed court binder. The Queen ‘deliberately rivalled her brother, Frederic the Great, in bibliophilic tastes and ambitions’,8 and Schneidler’s shop bound for her a huge number of books, mostly in calf and in the same style.9 Her elder son, Gustav (born 24 January 1746), grew up to become a book collector, and Schneidler worked steadily for him also, both as Crown Prince and as King, mostly in red goatskin, and in a new ‘Gustavian’ style.10 Schneidler continued meanwhile to work for Carl Gustav Tessin.11
The armorial block employed on this binding (Fig. 3) is identical to one reproduced by Carl Magnus Carlander12 and by Arthur Sjögren;13 a different block, somewhat smaller, evidently a copy, was in use by the 1760s.14 The broad border (Fig. 5), created by repetition of a shell and oriental tulip tool, combined with individual flower tools, and a crown tool at outside angles of the frame, distinguishes our binding from most others executed for the Queen, which are artless in comparison. The combed marbled endpapers in the volume are Dutch; Christoffer Schneidler later used local papers, perhaps of his own manufacture.15
The subsequent provenance of the volume may be revealed in inventories and other documents which are at present beyond our reach. After the death of Adolf Fredrik, in 1771, an auction of books was held to settle his debts; the catalogue printed for the sale perhaps shows that the volume left royal ownership at this time.16 Contemporary manuscript catalogues of the Drottningholm Library could divulge the location of the book.17 In 1777, the widowed Queen was forced to sell Drottningholm Palace to her son Gustav, and a room-by-room inventory was made;18 books are itemised, and this inventory possibly records our volume.19 After Lovisa Ulrika’s death, in 1782, a post-mortem inventory of her possessions was conducted; it also itemises books.20 A substantial portion of Lovisa Ulrika’s library was bequeathed to her daughter, Sophia Albertina (1753–1829); those books, however, seem to have remained intact to the present day, and it is unlikely that our volume was among them.21 The remaining books from Queen Lovisa Ulrika’s library were shelved at Drottningholm Palace until the nineteenth century, when distributed between the National Library and other collections.22
Michele Marieschi
Although the title implies that Marieschi had painted all the subjects shown, in fact none follows any known painting that can claim to be by Marieschi. The etchings are original works of art and Marieschi’s supreme achievements, in contrast to his painted vedute, which are of secondary importance in a sweeping survey of Venetian view painting.
Marieschi was born in in the parish of San Marcuola, Venice, on 21 December 1710. He was trained by his maternal grandfather, the theatrical scene painter Antonio Meneghini, and by Gaspare Diziani of Belluno, who at the time was working as a stage designer in the studio of Francesco Tasso. Marieschi’s earliest recorded works are ephemeral structures for the Giovedi Grasso festival in the Piazzetta, Venice, in 1731, and for the obsequies for Maria Clementina Sobieski, conducted in San Paterniano, Fano, in 1735. In the latter year, he painted the ingresso of Francesco Antonio Correr as Patriarch of Venice (7 February), and travelled in Germany; in 1736 he painted two vedute for Matthias von Schulenberg. From 1736 until 1741, Marieschi’s name is registered in the Fraglia dei Pittori, or guild, of Venetian painters. On 27 November 1737, he married Angela Fontana, daughter of Domenico Fontana, the most important picture dealer in Venice, with a shop in San Luca, and became the leading artist of Fontana’s workshop. Marieschi died after an eight-day illness at the age of just 33 on 18 January 1743. His studio was taken over by a pupil, Francesco Maria Albotto (1721–1757), who would also marry Marieschi’s widow on 29 October 1744.
Marieschi’s etched oeuvre has been catalogued Fabio Mauroner, Dario Succi, and most recently by Federico Montecuccoli degli Erri. Despite their intensive research, we still do not know when these etchings were executed, in what order, or over how long a period, or when and how they were first published, if they were ‘published’ at all in the sense that we understand the word today. It is likely that the work was very nearly finished when Marieschi applied to the Riformatori dello Studio di Padova, on 15 May 1741, for a privilege (a kind of copyright) to publish ‘una raccolta di varie prospettive di questa Serenissima Dominante’. In the application, the work is described as ‘Magnificentiores Selectioresque Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus, quos olim Michael Marieschi Venetus Pictor, et Architectus in plerisque Tabulis depinxit, nunc vero ab ipsomet accurate delineante, incidente, typisque mandante’, without specifying the number of views intended. Marieschi’s application was swiftly presented to the Senate, and a privilege was granted on 4 June 1741.23 The title stated in the application appears word-for-word on the title-print (Fig. 1), now elaborated to announce sixteen views (‘iterum in sexdecim aereis tabulis in lucem aeduntur’), the protection of a privilege (‘Venetijs mdccxli | cum Excettmi: Senatus permissu ac privil:’), and point of sale, Marieschi’s studio in the Calle di Ca’ Loredan or Ca’ Lando, near Campo S. Luca (‘Venduntur in uico Sancti Lucae | apud eumdem Auctorem Venetijs’). A review of the new work was published in the Göttingische Zeitungen von gelehrten Sachen, on 28 September 1741.24
A post-mortem inventory of Marieschi’s studio (taken 18 April 1743) records among ‘Libri D’Architettura’ forty-four sets (‘corpi’) of a work composed of eighteen plates, together with a quantity of loose prints (‘sciolte’) sufficient to assemble perhaps twenty similar sets.25 On this and other, circumstantial evidence, it is assumed that an issue of the work comprised of a title, dedication plate, and sixteen views was distributed during the artist’s lifetime. Persistent searches have failed, however, to locate a single copy.26 It could be that all such sets have perished over more than two centuries, to satisfy demand for the prints as decoration; or else very few sets were sold.
Another possible explanation for the rarity of eighteen-plate sets is that Marieschi withdrew the prints from sale. Marieschi had openly modelled his work on Prospectus Magni Canalis Venetiarum, a book of etchings by Antonio Visentini of vedute by Canaletto, published in 1735 at the expense of Canaletto’s patron, the British Consul in Venice Joseph Smith (title, portrait, and 14 vedute). Smith’s response to Marieschi’s rival publication was a much enlarged, second edition of the Canaletto-Visentini views, issued from his own private press, in 1742, under the analogous title Urbis venetiarum prospectus celebriores (five title- and portrait-plates, 38 vedute). Marieschi perhaps felt obliged to retaliate in turn, and suspended distribution of his eighteen plates while he prepared additional views.27 An impression of Marieschi’s title-plate, in a private collection in Venice, has pen corrections of misspelt words, and ‘ xvii’ instead of ‘sexdecim’; it could represent an improvised response to the new Canaletto-Visentini publication, a specious enlargement of Marieschi’s work, by counting the dedication-plate (a view of the Doge’s Palace seen from the Basin of St. Mark’s) as a ‘view’.28 While there is some circumstantial evidence that Marieschi’s prints were circulated under this revised title, once again, no set with a revised title-plate has been located.29
The same post-mortem inventory provides a list of the matrices found in Marieschi’s studio. An entry ‘Rami Intagliati N.o 23’ is interpreted as referring to the title-plate for the Magnificentiores selectioresque urbis venetiarum prospectus, its dedication-plate, twenty plates of vedute, and a plate of an architectural capriccio (‘Gran Cortile’).30 It is supposed that Marieschi was working during 1742 on four new vedute, and that these matrices were at a fairly advanced stage when he died suddenly of bronchial pneumonia on 18 January 1743. The four, partially-completed prints are speculatively identified as ‘The church of Santa Maria della Salute seen across the water’, ‘The Campo dei Frari, with the Scuola of St Antonio’, ‘The Palazzo Pesaro on the Grand Canal’, and, probably, ‘The view along the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge with the Fondaco dei Tedeschi’.31 The identity of the ‘other hand’ responsible for completing these four views has provoked debate; most likely it was Francesco Fontebasso, to whom the foreground figures in Marieschi’s painted and etched vedute are often credited.32
First state: ‘tirature precoci’ and ‘tirature tarde’
Montecuccoli degli Erri considers the earliest impressions in first state (‘le tirature precoci’) to be those where lightly etched ruled lines for aligning the lettering (‘riga di allineamento dei relative caratteri’), or stray lines from the burin elsewhere on the matrice, are visible. These faint lines apparently wore out almost immediately, and are seen imperfectly or not at all in later impressions (‘tirature tarde’). Regrettably, no impressions of ‘le tirature precoci’ are located by Montecuccoli degli Erri, nor are any reproduced in his catalogue, which is illustrated by two impressions in ‘primo stato (tardo)’ and the remainder in ‘secondo’ or ‘terzo stato’ (or both). Identification of ‘le tirature precoci’ is thus not an objective process, achieved through comparison, but dependant on interpretation of the author’s adjectives and expressions, which have to some degree an element of subjective perception: ‘debolmente incisa’, ‘interamente percepibile’, ‘leggerissime’, ‘ben visibile’, ‘visibile a occhio nudo’, ‘visibile alla lente’, ‘pressoché invisibile’, ‘tendono a scomparire’, ‘scompaiono’ and others.
The present set was declared by Montecuccoli degli Erri to be ‘di tiratura sicuramente non posteriore agli inizi del 1744’33 and is listed by him as the earliest known homogenous set of impressions (the dedication copy to Marc de Beauvau, prince de Craon, presumably delivered in 1741 and composed of eighteen plates, is lost). Since some impressions in our set do not exhibit features which Montecuccoli degli Erri associates with ‘le tirature precoci’, it would appear that even early sets are composed of both ‘tirature precoci’ and ‘tirature tarde’. As a contribution to better understanding of the features reputed to disappear through progressive striking of the matrices, we reproduce below all the prints in our set, with enlargements of selected details.
Intermediate and late issues
The matrices were inherited by Marieschi’s widow, Angela Fontana, and distributed by her as set of 22 plates (title, dedication plate, twenty vedute). By 1746, sets were being bought and sold in London by the painter, collector, and print publisher Arthur Pond,34 and engraved copies of the Marieschi views by Nathaniel Parr (fl. 1730–1769) were soon published there by Thomas Bowles.35
A post-mortem inventory of the estate of Angela Fontana (taken 29 January 1752) records seventeen sets of the prints and all twenty-two matrices in her possession.36 She bequeathed her property to her husband, Francesco Albotto; when he died, five years later, on 12 January 1757, at the age of 35, the notary found just the twenty-two matrices: no sets of the prints were in the house, however fifty sets were later located with an unnamed ‘stampador’, who evidently had printed them on Albotto’s behalf.37 The matrices were inherited in 1757 by Michele’s daughter, Elisabetta, and at an uncertain date – perhaps ten years later – she sold them, most probably to the publisher Teodoro Viero, who numbered them from 1–22.38 The set of matrices passed afterwards into the possession of the publisher Giuseppe Wagner,39 and eventually to Giovanni Maria Pedrali.40
Watermarks in binder’s endpapers
This watermark motif of a lily in a crowned shield (so-called ‘Strasburg Lily’), with a bell suspended from it, originated with the Dutch manufacturer Honig, who owned mills in Zaandijk from 1675. It was adopted by other Dutch papermakers, and also by makers in Russia, Scandinavia, and elsewhere, who wished to allude to Dutch papermaking.41 The countermark, the letter combination ‘ iv’, was widely used as a mark of quality by Dutch and other makers (the letters reference the French papermaker I. Villedary).
Details of Christoffer Schneidler’s tools
Fig. 9 Comparative illustration Similar crown tool in use after 175542
Fig. 10 Detail of border decoration on our binding: tool 30 × 20 mm
Fig. 11 Detail of border decoration on our binding: corner tool 35 × 27 mm
Fig. 12 Detail of spine decoration on our binding: compartment 35 × 38 mm43
Fig.15 Comparative illustration Later copy of supralibros44
List of prints
Peter Dreyer, Vedute, architektonisches Capriccio und Landschaft in der venezianischen Graphik des 18. Jahrhunderts: eine Ausstellung aus den Beständen des Berliner Kupferstichkabinetts (Berlin 1985), nos. 72–90
Mauroner 1940
Fabio Mauroner, ‘Catalogue of the etchings of Michiel Marieschi’ in Print-collector’s Quarterly 27 (1940), pp.179–215
Montecuccoli degli Erri 1999
Federico Montecuccoli degli Erri and Filippo Pedrocco, Michele Marieschi: La vita, l’ambiente, l’opera (Milan 1999)
Succi 1981
Dario Succi, Le incisioni di Michele Marieschi, 1710–1743: vedutista veneziano con un’acquaforte inedita, catalogue for an exhibition held at Palazzo Attems, 28 February–29 March 1981 (Padua 1981)
Succi 1983
Dario Succi, Da Carlevarijs ai Teipolo: incisori veneti e friulani del settecento, catalogue of an exhibition held at the Palazzo Attems, Gorizia, and Museo Correr, Venice, in 1983 (Venice 1983)
Succi 1987
Dario Succi, Michiel Marieschi: catalogo ragionato dell’opera incisa, catalogue for an exhibition held at Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo, April 1987 (Turin 1987)
Toledano 1988
Ralph Toledano, Michele Marieschi: l’opera completa (Milan 1988)
Toledano 1995
Ralph Toledano, Michele Marieschi: catalogo ragionato (Milan 1995)
■ Title-plate to the series, with the head of Michele Marieschi within an escutcheon, and the title lettered in a cartouche below:
Magnificentiores Selectioresque Urbis Venetiarum Prospectus | quos olim | Michael Marieschi Venetus pictor, et architectus in plerisque tabulis depinxit. Nunc vero ab ipsomet acurate delineante, incidente, tijpisque mandante, iterum in sexdecim aereis tabulis in lucem æduntur. Venetijs mdccxli | cum Excellmi: Senatus permissu ac priuil: | Venduntur in uico Sancti Lucae apud eundem Auctorem Venetijs.
Etching (matrice 329 × 479 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself, with the engraved portrait (only) designed by Angelo Trevisani (1669–after 1753) and engraved by Carlo Orsolini (1703–1781). Signed beneath the portrait: Anzolo Trivisan Deliniaui. | Carlo Orsolini scupis [sic].
Mauroner (1940) p.201 (as by Trevisani and Orsolini); Succi (1981) 6; Succi (1983) 287; Dreyer (1985) 72; Succi (1987) 18; Toledano (1988) p.59 (fuori catalogo); Toledano (1995) p.39 (fuori catalogo). Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 1 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] la quadrettatura sottostante l’indirizzo è interamente percepibile; la doppia riga di allineamento dei relativi caratteri è visibile su quasi tutta la scritta; [tirature tarde] la quadrettatura tende a scomparire, in particolare sotto la prima parte della frase; delle righe di allineamento restano tracce intermittenti. Cominciano ad apparire tracce di usura sul bordo in destra in alto’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM45 (view); Paris, BnF46 (view)
■ Dedication plate for the series, a view of the Bacino of San Marco and the Doge’s Palace, with a dedication to the Prince of Beauvau-Craon, dated 1741, and his coat of arms. Lettered with title, dedication and key to seven places in the view:
Prospectus Vrbis Venetiarum, præ cæteris magnifica, exhibens publica Ædificia, adstantia utrique lateri Plateæ minoris D: Marci, respicientis mare
Excell:mo Viro | Marco de Beauvau Principi Cratumni, et S:R:I: Magnati Hispaniarum | Pmi Ordinis ; Eqviti Velleris Aurei ; Supremo Stabuli Præfecto R:C: Ducis Lotharingiæ, | Magnique Ducis Hetruriæ; Consiliario M:R: Hungariæ; Primati Consilii Regiminis | Florentini. &&&
[Lower left:] 1. Caput ripae Nationis Illyricæ | 2. Carceres | 3. Curia | 4. Basilica D: Marci [Lower right:] 5. Horologium | 6. Bibliotecha publica | 7. Pars frontis Ædis monetariæ
Etching (matrice 335 × 467 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 2; Succi (1981) 7-I; Succi (1983) 288; Dreyer (1985) 73; Succi (1987) 17; Toledano (1988) V.1.4; Toledano (1995) V.1.g. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 2 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] leggere righe di allineamento dei caratteri alle “legende”; [tirature tarde] le righe tendono a scomparire, prima ai numeri 2–4, poi le altre, ultime al n. 7’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Campo dei Frari, with the Scuola of St Antonio, lettered with the title:
Templum et platea F:F: Ord: min: Conuentualium usque ad uiam, qua itur ad D: Rocchi; cum schola D: Antonij ad dexteram, et alteram Passionis ad sinistram
Etching (matrice 316 × 465 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 21; Succi (1981) 25-I; Succi (1983) 303; Dreyer (1985) 84; Succi (1987) 21; Toledano (1988) V,23.2; Toledano (1995) V.29.b. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 17 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento visibile a occhio nudo su quasi tutta la scritta e sulla firma; [tirature tarde] deboli tracce delle righe solo negli intervalli delle parole’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Piazza San Marco looking towards the Basilica and Campanile, with the buildings of the Procuratie on either side, lettered with the title:
Forum maius D: Marci aliter prospectum cum eiusdem Basilica in extrema parte, nec non cum ædibus D: Marci Procuratorum ad dexteram, vulgo novis, et alteris, vulgo veteribus ad lævam.
Etching (matrice 300 × 447 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 9; Succi (1981) 8-I; Succi (1983) 289; Dreyer (1985) 75; Succi (1987) 2; Toledano (1988) V.3.7; Toledano (1995) V.3.i. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 4 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento visibile a tratti; un graffio diagonale che inizia sopra la “i” di “maius” e giunge fino ai bordo dell’immagine sopra la “D” di “D: Marci”; due leggere linee orizzontali, quasi graffi, nel cielo sopra l’orologio’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The view along the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge with the Fondaco dei Tedeschi at the right, lettered with the title:
Canale magnum usque ad Palatium familiæ Michaeliæ prospectum a Ponte Rivoalti, cum æde mercatoria Gentis Germanicæ ad dexteram ; ad levam cum publicis Magistratibus Rivoalti
Etching (matrice 315 × 464 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 16; Succi (1981) 20; Succi (1987) 14; Toledano (1988) V.27.2; Toledano (1995) V.33.b. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 20 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] non finita la coltrina del “felze” della gondola centrale, dopo che ne era stata ottenuta la sagoma attraverso l’eliminazione di parte delle sottostanti linee già incise: esto però visibile alla lente il preesistente tratteggio, costituito in basso da linee verticali e, in alto, da 9 linee orizzontali ricurve; doppia riga di allineamento su quasi tutta la scritta; [tirature tarde] le linee del “felze” tendono a divenire intermittenti, minime tracce delle righe di allineamento’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ Piazza San Marco with the Basilica to the left, looking towards the Campanile, Library and Piazzetta, lettered with the title:
Forum maius, et Basilica D: Marci, cum insula procul S. Georgij maioris et ædes D: Marci Procuratorum, vulgo novæ ad dexteram: omnia ab horologio prospecta.
Etching (matrice 308 × 444 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 20; Succi (1981) 12-I; Succi (1983) 291; Dreyer (1985) 74; Succi (1987) 12; Toledano (1988) V.2.4; Toledano (1995) V.2.f. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 3 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento alle parole “Forum” e “Marci… novae”; [tirature tarde] scompare prima la riga inferiore poi quella superiore, di cui restano deboli tracce dopo “novae”)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Cannaregio on the Grand Canal, with the Ghetto in the background seen from the riva di Biasio, lettered with the title:
Pars Canalis magni se extendens a læva usque ad palatium familiæ Valaressæ ; at è fronte caput Canalis regij, et ultrà pontem Hebræorum Domicilium
Etching (matrice 316 × 468 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 15; Succi (1981) 23-I; Succi (1983) 301; Dreyer (1985) 89; Succi (1987) 20; Toledano (1988) V.28.6; Toledano (1995) V.34.c. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 21 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] righe di allineamento visibili su tutta la scritta; quella inferiore si sdoppia, per un errore di tracciato, dall’inizio fino alla parola “usque”; [tirature tarde] le righe sono quasi scomparse”)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The courtyard of the Doge’s Palace, the cupolas of St Mark’s Basilica in the background, lettered with the title
Magnificum Ædium Divalium impluvium varie, et eleganter exornatum, ac in eius extrema parte Testudines Basilicæ D: Marci supereminentes.
Etching, with the title printed from a second plate (matrice 308 × 442 mm, including second plate), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 12; Succi (1981) 9; Succi (1987) 3; Toledano (1988) V.4.2; Toledano (1995) V.4.c. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 5 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento che comincia già prima della scritta e giunge fino alla firma; [tirature tarde] la doppia riga scompare’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The island of S. Giorgio Maggiore and the shipping moored in the basin of San Marco, with a distant view of the Doge’s Palace across the channel, lettered with the title:
Ingressus in Urbem venienti e Clodia, cum insula S Georgij maioris ad dexteram a longe Platea minor D. Marci, cum proxima ripa Illijricorum.
Etching (matrice 316 × 466 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 5; Succi (1981) 14-I; Succi (1983) 292; Dreyer (1985) 85; Succi (1987) 6; Toledano (1988) V.22.3; Toledano (1995) V.28.e. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 16 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento su tutta la scritta, e prima; la riga superiore si sdoppia, per un errore; dopo la parola “venienti” e fino a “maioris”; [tirature tarde] tutte le righe allineamento scompaiono sinistra, fino alla parola “insula”. Nell’angolo superiore destro, all’interno di un’area più debolmente incisa con una doppia serie di linee incrociate, si crea una piccola zona angolare del tutto bianca che interessa anche le linee di riquadro dell’immagine, mentre la serie i linee orizzontali tende a scomparire; contro il bordo superiore, sulla verticale del palazzo ducale, si forma per usura un’area chiara sempre più evidente’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Piazza San Marco seen from the side of the Basilica, looking towards the church of San Geminiano, lettered with the title:
Platea D: Bassi et suum templum ad dexteram ; ad lævam latus Basilicæ D: Marci cum eiusdem foro maiori, quod desinit ad D: Geminiani.
Etching (matrice 308 × 427 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 14; Succi (1981) 10-I; Dreyer (1985) 76; Succi (1987) 4; Toledano (1988) V.6.4; Toledano (1995) V.8.d. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 7 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] lo sfondo è debolmente inciso e piatto; debolmente incisa, quasi offuscata, la sommità del campanile di S. Marco sporgente al di sopra della basilica; l’angelo è poco distinto, salvo che nel profilo dell’ala; doppia riga di allineamento su tutta la scritta, ed anche prima e dopo di essa’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ View along the Molo with the Doge’s Palace on the right, towards S. Maria della Salute and the entrance of the Grand Canal, lettered with the title:
Forum minus D: Marci ab æstuarijs conspectum, cum carceribus, et Curia ad dexteram; et e regione Telonium, ac Templum D: Mariæ Salutis cesnuntur; ubi Canalis magnus initium habet.
Etching (matrice 308 × 445 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 19; Succi (1981) 21; Succi (1987) 7; Toledano (1988) V.5.4; Toledano (1995) V.5.f. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 8 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] leggerissime tracce delle righe di allineamento della scritta; [tirature tarde] le tracce scompaiono’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The campo and church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo, with the Scuola di San Marco and the statue of Colleoni, lettered with the title:
Platea ac Templum D:D: Joannis et Pauli et proxime magnum Sodalitium D: Marco Eu: dicatum: eminet in medio statua equestris ænea Bartholomæo Colleonio erecta ex S:C:
Etching (matrice 305 × 441 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 13; Succi (1981) 22-I; Succi (1983) 298; Dreyer (1985) 84; Succi (1987) 8; Toledano (1988) V.21.2; Toledano (1995) V.27.b. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 15 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] in centro, la facciata della Scuola di S. Marco, debolmente incisa, appare come una massa griglia indistinta ed uniforme (le precocità di questi esemplari, meno gradevoli dei successivi, è rivelata dall’abnorme rilievo di tonalità, rispetto allo sfondo, delle piccole figurine più lontane, ottenute con l’ultima forte morsura della lastra insieme a quelle principali)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Rialto Bridge seen from the traghetto of Ca Bembo, lettered with the title:
Pons Rivoalti procul cospectus, cum Palatio Delphinorum, et ripa carbonaria ad dexteram, nec non vinaria ad sinistram
Etching (matrice 316 × 467 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 18; Succi (1981) 16-I; Dreyer (1985) 79; Succi (1987) 11; Toledano (1988) V.10; Toledano (1995) V.13. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 10 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento già prima della scritta, fin quasi dal limite sinistro della lastra, e fino alla firma compresa; [tirature tarde] la doppia riga tende a scomparire. Tracce di usura nell’angolo superiore destro’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Regatta on the Grand Canal, between the Palazzo Foscari and Palazzo Balbi, lettered with the title:
Foscarorum ædes ad levam, et e conspectu altera Balborum ambo præter canalem magnum; ubi etiam solemne nauticum certamen, et maxima prequentia cymbarum vel auro vel argento vel alio ornatu obducta- | rum, fictasque formas exhibentium cernuntur, nec non lintres naviculariorum pro brabio certantium. Inter easdem ædes exornata ad maiorem spectaculi dignitatem meta Super acquas erigitur.
Etching, with the title printed from a second plate (316 × 467 mm, including second plate), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 22; Succi (1981) 18-I; Dreyer (1985) 90; Succi (1987) 15; Toledano (1988) V.29.3; Toledano (1995) V.35.d. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 22 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] nettamente visibile il campanile alle spalle della “macchina” collocata fra Ca’ Foscari e Ca’ Balbi; [tirature tarde] il campanile tende a confondersi con lo sfondo del cielo…’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Market and Rialto Bridge seen from the Corte del Remer, lettered with the title:
Forum olitorium e regione prospectum, cum proximis publicis Magistatibus, et ponte Rivoalti: citra pontem ædes mercatoria gentis Germanicæ ad lævam.
Etching (matrice 316 × 466 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 6; Succi (1981) 19; Dreyer (1985) 78; Succi (1987) 19; Toledano (1988) V.8.6; Toledano (1995) V.10.e. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 9 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento su tutta la scritta fino alla parola “mercatoria”; oltre, intermittente; [tirature tarde] leggera traccia intermittente della sola riga interiore’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Palazzo Pesaro on the Grand Canal, lettered with the title:
Pisaurorum Familiæ Ædes ad Canalis magni marginem, una cum D: Eustachij templo dextrorsum, et sinistrorsum cum parte Corneliorum ædis
Etching, with the title printed from a second plate (327 × 465 mm, including second plate), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 8; Succi (1981) 26-I; Succi (1983) 302; Dreyer (1985) 88; Succi (1987) 23; Toledano (1988) V.25.2; Toledano (1995) V.31.b. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 19 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] la sommità del cielo ha due tonalità di grigio nettamente distinte; [tirature tarde] il cielo è uniforme e debole, e praticamente bianco lungo la linea di inquadramento dell’immagine a destra…’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Piazzetta in Venice, with the Doge’s palace along the left side and the Sansovino library on the right, lettered with the title:
Forum minus Divi Marci publicijs ædificijs utrinque insigne.
Etching (matrice 316 × 475 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 11; Succi (1981) 11-I; Succi (1983) 290; Dreyer (1985) 77; Succi (1987) 5; Toledano (1988) V.7; Toledano (1995) V.9. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 8 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] leggerissime tracce delle righe di allineamento della scritta; [tirature tarde] le tracce scompaiono’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The church of Santa Maria della Salute seen across the water; gondolas in the foreground, lettered with the title:
Templum S: Mariæ Salutis Cleric: Regul: Congregationis a Somascha, cum eorundem Coenobio ad lævam, et Divi Gregorij Templo hinc ad dexteram sub Abbatis ditione
Etching (matrice 314 × 467 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 10; Succi (1981) 27-I; Succi (1983) 304; Dreyer (1985) 81; Succi (1987) 16; Toledano (1988) V.14.4; Toledano (1995) V.19.c. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 12 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] leggerissime righe di allineamento alle parole “Congregationis a Somascha”, “Templo”, “dexteram”, ed oltre la scritta; [tirature tarde] le righe scompaiono’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The two entrances to the Arsenal, one for the workmen the other for shipping, lettered with the title:
Magni Armamentarij Veneziarum portæ duæ, artificibus altera, altera navibus duplex aditus
Etching (matrice 309 × 472 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 4; Succi (1981) 17-I; Succi (1983) 294; Dreyer (1985) 80; Succi (1987) 9; Toledano (1988) V.12.2; Toledano (1995) V.17.b. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 11 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento ben visibile dopo il primo “altera” fino in fondo alla scritta, e dopo il nome “Marieschi”; [tirature tarde] doppia riga pressoché invisibile, salvo che fra “altera” e “navibus”. Tracce di usura in alto a destra, con scomparsa di diversi centimetri della linea di inquadramento superiore’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The Campo San Rocco with the Scuola and church with a fantastic façade invented by Marieschi, the original being still incomplete at the time, lettered with the title:
Ædes Divi Rocchi facies rudis adhuc ex cocto latere, nec sectis marmoribus obducta: ad lævam magnum sodalitium eidem Sancto dicatum, et studio Sebastiani Serlij constructum.
Etching (matrice 310 × 470 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 17; Succi (1981) 15-I; Succi (1983) 293; Dreyer (1985) 83); Succi (1987) 10; Toledano (1988) V.20; Toledano (1995) V.26. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 14 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] leggerissime tracce delle righe di allineamento alle parole “Rocchi” e “marmoribus”, e fra “eidem” e “Sancto”; [tirature tarde] le righe di allineamento scompaiono. Tracce di usura sul bordo di destra dall’altezza del tetto dell’edificio’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ View along the Grand Canal with S. Simeon on the left and the Carmelite church on the right, lettered with the title:
Prospectus Canalis magni Coenobium D: Claræ versus exhibens, ad dexteram Templum P: P: Carmelitarum ex calceatorum, et ad lævam alterum S:S: Simeonis, et Judæ
Etching (matrice 315 × 466 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 7; Succi (1981) 24-I; Dreyer (1985) 82; Succi (1987) 22 (‘tra le ultime della serie’); Toledano (1988) V.19.3; Toledano (1995) V.25.d. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 13 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] doppia riga di allineamento su tutta la scritta; [tirature tarde] tende a scomparire la riga inferiore, che diviene intermittente’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
■ The campo and church of Santa Maria Formosa, lettered with the title:
Templum cum Platea Sanctæ Mariæ Formosæ, ex archetijpo Jacobi Sansovini desumptum.
Etching (matrice 315 × 466 mm), designed and etched by Marieschi himself. Signed in bottom right corner: Mich.l Marieschi del.t. et inci.t.
Mauroner (1940) 3; Succi (1981) 13-I; Dreyer (1985) 87; Succi (1987) 13; Toledano (1988) V.24; Toledano (1995) V.30. Montecuccoli degli Erri (1999) 18 (‘1º stato: [tirature precoci] leggerissime righe di allineamento dopo “Jacobi”, che si prolungano oltre la scritta; [tirature tarde] le righe scompaiono’)
Comparative impressions: London, BM (view); Paris, BnF (view)
1. Federico Montecuccoli degli Erri and Filippo Pedrocco, Michele Marieschi: La vita, l’ambiente, l’opera (Milan 1999), p.157: ‘ lettera A, lettera S, lettera Z: tracce separate di queste filigrane, quasi invisibili, individuate in alcuni dei fogli’. These watermarks possibly are related to individual marks observed by Andrew Robison in Venetian papers of the 1740s; cf. Andrew Robison, Piranesi: early architectural fantasies: a catalogue raisonné of the etchings (Washington, dc 1986), pp.224–225 nos. 47–48, 51–52. According to Dario Succi, ‘Le tirature più fresche del primo stato sono quelle impresse su carta con la filigrana della balestra’ (Dario Succi, Michiel Marieschi: catalogo ragionato dell’opera incisa, catalogue for an exhibition held at Galleria Lorenzelli, Bergamo, April 1987 (Turin 1987), p.32.
2. Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), p.157: ‘una serie completa, omogenea, di tiratura sicuramente non posteriore agli inizi del 1744 (album alle armi delle case reali di Prussia e Svezia, collegabile alle nozze – celebrate nel 1744 – fra Adolfo Federico (1710–1771) figlio di Cristiano Augusto di Svezia, e Luisa Ulrica (1720–1782), figlia di Federico Guglielmo i e sorella di Federico il Grande di Prussia)’.
3. Walfrid Holst, ‘Hur Carl Gustaf Tessin nödgades börja avyttra sina samlingar’ in Nationalmusei Årsbok, new series, 4 (1934), pp.49–64. Tessin had previously made gifts of art works; cf. ‘Catalogue de quelques dessins du cabinet de C.G.T. presentés à son Altesse royale Louise Ulrique, Princesse de Suède, et de Prusse, le 24 décembre, mdccxlviii’ (Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, A 87, no. 12). In 1746, he sold some numismatic books to Lovisa Ulrika, and circa 1750 he sold her more books on numismatics, on the natural sciences, and other subjects; see Clas-Ove Strandberg, The Queen Lovisa Ulrika Collection of Numismatic Literature: an illustrated and annotated catalogue (Stockholm 2001), p.16, citing Tessin’s holograph catalogues in the Åkeroarckivet, and elsewhere.
4. The ink inscription ‘C.G. Tessin’ or ‘Carl G. Tessin’, often found in Tessin’s books and albums of prints and drawings, is not present here; for these marks of ownership, see Frits Lugt, Les marques de collections de dessins & d’estampes (The Hague 1921), no. 2985 (view); Lugt on-line, no. 4339 (view). ‘Lovisa Ulrika on occasion removed Tessin’s signature, either by cutting it out or pasting a small label over it’ (Strandberg, op. cit., 2001, p.17); she frequently rebound Tessin’s books (link). Documents which might resolve the question of Tessin’s ownership are beyond our reach; they include his Parisian account books (Stockholm, Kungliga Bibliotheket, Ms S 12), various catalogues of his book collection, and Tessin’s ‘Catalogue des Estampes du Cabinet’ (Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, SE/AB144/EA_28-1/CGT 1/1; Uppsala, Universitetsbibliotek, Handskrifts- och musikavdelningen, U 287–289). On Tessin’s relations with Mariette, see the summary in Kristel Smentek, Mariette and the science of the Connoisseur in Eighteenth-century Europe (Farnham 2014), pp.36–37.
5. ‘The best Swedish binder of the period’, in the opinion of Sten G. Lindberg, Swedish Books 1280–1967: illuminated manuscripts, illustrated printed books & fine book bindings: a select guide to reference literature on Sweden (Stockholm 1968), p.37. See Johannes Rudbeck, ‘Kristoffer Schneidler: en Stockholmsbokbindare för 150 år sedan’ in Särtryck ur: Samfundet Sankt Eriks Årsbok (Stockholm 1910), pp.89–103; Johannes Rudbeck, Svenska bokband under nyare tiden: bidrag till svensk bokbinderihistoria. 2, 1718–1809 (Stockholm 1910–1914), pp.xix–xxvi; Arthur Sjögren, Svenska kungliga och furstliga bokägaremärken (Stockholm 1915), pp.xci, ci.
6. Rudbeck, op. cit. (1910–1914), p.92 fig. 39; Sten G. Lindberg, ‘Bookbindings in Sweden’ in Festschrift Ernst Kyriss, dem Bucheinbandforscher… in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt zu seinen 80. Geburtstag am 2. Juni 1961 gewidmet von seinen Freunden (Stuttgart 1961), pp.447–463, fig. 2; ‘Christopher Schneidler – kunglig bokbindare på Kungliga Biblioteket’ (blogpost by Lena Floser; image; image).
7. The gift was an album of portraits of Swedish and foreign royalty, drawn by Niclas Lafrensen the Elder and ornamented by Jean Eric Rehn, with title painted in oils by Guillaume Thomas Taraval: ‘Recueil des portraits anciens, qui se trouvent au Chateau de Gripsholm, dedié à S.A.R. Louise Ulrique, Princesse de Suède, Stockholm le xxiv Decembre 1747’ (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, S 71). The red morocco binding is ornamented with gilt crowns and a lambrequin border. For a reproduction and details, see Sten G. Lindberg, ‘Den Svenska bokbandskonstens glansperiod’ in Biblis (1957), p.72; Kungliga bokband c. 1490–1962, catalogue for an exhibition in the Kungliga Biblioteket (Stockholm 1962), no. 88; Lindberg, op. cit. (1968), p.37 no. 45. Lindberg credits Schneidler for inaugurating ‘four distinct styles of binding patterns in Sweden’, of which the ‘Lambrequin style’ is one (‘Bookbindings in Sweden’, op. cit., 1961, p.458); cf. Sten G. Lindberg, Mästarband: Bokbindarmästareföreningen i Stockholm 350 år, catalogue of an exhibition, Stockholms stadsmuseum, 10 May–31 August 1980 (Stockholm 1980), nos. 26–29 (‘lambrequinstil’), 37–38 and 40–41 (‘gyllenlädersstil’), 45–48 and 50 (‘rocaillestilen’, 53–54 (‘à la grecquens’).
8. Sten G. Lindberg, ‘Bookbindings in Sweden’, op. cit. (1961), p.458.
9. The Queen’s choice of material (veau fauve) is said to have been influenced by ‘her compatriot in Paris, the Comte de Hoym’ (Sten G. Lindberg, ‘The Royal Libraries at Drottningholm’ in Bulletin du bibliophile, 1985, p.144). An account book detailing the work Schneidler undertook for the Queen indicates that on 24 May 1770 he was owed the large sum of 7389 crowns (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, ACC1978_33; record; view).
10. Schneidler later presented to Crown Prince Gustav the Bible he had bound as his guild masterpiece; on the occasion of Gustav’s seventeenth birthday, in 1762, he presented another volume (view); and after Gustav’s accession to throne (12 February 1771), Schneidler bound books for him en masse, many lettered on upper covers ‘Bibliotheket på Drotningholm’ (view).
11. Gunnar von Proschwitz, Carl Gustaf Tessin: Kulturpersonen och privatmannen, 1695–1770 (Stockholm 1995), p.123; Roger de Robelin, ‘Ett fruntimmers bibliotek från frihetstiden: Ulrika Lovisa Sparres boksamling på Åkerö år 1755’ in Biblis 27 (2004), pp.21–36 (esp. pp.30, 31).
12. Reproduced by Carl Magnus Carlander, Svenska Bibliotek och ex-libris (Stockholm 1904), pp.22/23, as a line drawing (view).
13. Sjögren, op. cit. (1915), pp.xciii, 133 no. 8, 134 fig. 138 (as 89 × 93 mm). The same block was employed on another, unidentified book (view).
14. Sjögren, op. cit. (1915), p.133 no. 9, p.134 fig. 139 (as 50 × 51 mm); see below, note 45 and Fig. 15.
15. Richard Wolfe, Marbled paper: its history, techniques, and patterns (Philadelphia 1990), pp.60–61.
16. Förteckning på en samling af wackra och wäl conditionerade böcker i flera språk och wetenskaper, som genom auction komma at försäljas i Finleyska huset på kongl. Riddarholmen, den 1772 (Stockholm: Lars Salvius, 1772). The copy in the Kungliga Biblioteket is dated by hand 4 March and ‘Böckerna hafva tillhört Konung Adolph Fridrich’ (record). Carlander, op. cit., 1904, p.22, provides a brief analysis of the sale catalogue: 201 folios, 224 quartos, 615 octavos, and 692 books in smaller formats (entry).
17. An early ‘Catalogue des Livres à Drottningholm’, in which the latest book is printed in 1753, records 343 works (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, U 232): ‘Knappt en tredjedel (99 titlar) är vitterhet i olika former. Historia har 85 titlar. Moralfilosofi, biografier, memoarer och geografi samlar 100 titlar, medan teologi och naturvetenskap blott har ett fåtal verk. Den absolut övervägende delen av böckerna var på franska språket (306 st) och de flesta tryckta efter år 1726’, reports Anita Ankarcona, ‘Drottningholms-bibliotekets bokbestånd’ in Biblioteket på Drottningholms Slott (Stockholm 1998), p.18. The next, ‘Catalogue des livres qui composent La Bibliothèque de S.M. la Reine à Drottningholm’, in which the latest book is printed in 1754, lists some 443 books and 25 manuscripts, in all disciplines, including the arts (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, U 231). The last Drottningholm library catalogue of the eighteenth century, ‘Katalog öfver Konigl. biblioteket på Drottningholm’, lists both Lovisa Ulrika’s and Gustav iii’s books, reputedly 2530 works in some 7400 volumes (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, U 236 1–2). See Strandberg, op. cit. (2001), p.17; Sten G. Lindberg, ‘Drottning Lovisa Ulrikas bibliotek på Drottningholm’ in Kungl. Vitterhets historie och antikvitetsakademiens årsbok (1994), pp.76–84 (p.79).
18. Stockholm, Riksarkivet, Drottninghom, Inventarieförteckningar, Rumsinventarium, 1777, SE/RA/56505/56505.1/D I/10 (record).
19. If the book entered Gustav iii’s library, then it may be recorded in his library catalogues, e.g. ‘Catalogue alphabétique des auteurs, commentateurs, traducteurs & éditeurs des livres du Cabinet de s.a.r. le Prince héréditaire de Suède avec des Supplémens par Jean Björnstjerna, Bibliothécaire de s.a.r.’, 1763 (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, U 211) and ‘Catalogus librorum bibliothecae Regis A.o 1774’ (Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, U 212).
20. Stockholm, Riksarkivet, volym K 268.
21. The books passed from Sophia Albertina to her half-sister, Fredrika Charlotte ‘Lolotte’ Forssberg, countess Stenbock, thence by descent; see Sam Owen Jansson, ‘Die Stenbocksche Fideikomissbibliothek’ in Librarium 10 (1967), p.95, who estimates that one-third of Sophia Albertina’s library was inherited from her mother: ‘Die Bücher der Königin sind zum großen Teil in den charakteristischen Einbänden des Hofbuchbinders Christoph Schneidler gebunden, mit dem schwedisch-preußischen Allianzwappen auf dem Vorderdeckel’.
22. Her collection of some 286 numismatic books – largely assembled by Tessin – was transferred to the State in 1763, to settle debts to the court jeweller and other creditors, however it remained at Drottningholm Palace until 1794, when the Royal Museum in Stockholm was founded (now within the Kungliga Myntkabinettet); see Clas-Ove Strandberg, op. cit. (2001), passim; Clas-Ove Strandberg, ‘The 17th century books in the Queen Lovisa Ulrika Library in Stockholm’ in Europäische numismatische Literatur im 17. Jahrhundert, edited by Christian Dekesel and Thomas Stäcker (Wiesbaden 2005), pp.275–300. Her natural history books and specimens were distributed between the Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien and Uppsala Universitet; other books from her original collection were integrated in the Kungliga Biblioteket, and the Drottningholm Palace Library is now shelved with duplicates.
23. Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Riformatori dello Studio di Padova, b. 17 (15 May 1741, Supplica; 18 May 1741, Relazione; 3 June 1741, Parere favorevole; 4 June 1741, Concessione privilegio decennale). Rodolfo Gallo, L’incisione nel ’700 a Venezia e a Bassano (Venice 1941), p.167; Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), p.116 (Appendix 2, document 38).
24. 78. Stück der Göttingische Zeitungen von gelehrten Sachen, 28 September 1741, pp.659–660: ‘Venedig. | Magnificentiores selectioresque Vrbis Venetiarum Prospectus, quos olim Michael Marieschi venetus pictor & architectus in plerisque tabulis depinxit, nunc vero ab ipsomet accurante delineante, incidente, tyspisque mandante iterum in sexdecim aereis tabulis in lucem eduntur. 1741. Diese Kupferstiche der schönsten Aussichten in Venedig sind auf sehr grossem Papier abgedruckt und sind bey dem Buchhändler Simone Occhi zu finden’ (link).
25. Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Signori di Notte al Civil, Inventari-stime-scritture, b. 242, c. 25, ‘Inventario dei bene esistenti nella casa di Michele Marieschi, sui quali la vedova Angela Fontana intende praticare il pagamento della sua dote’: ‘Libri D’Architettura corpi quarantaquattro di veduta in libro, sciolti di carte dieciotto l’uno fatti dal q.m. sopradetto Marieschi – No. 44 | Carte di vedute sciolte – No. 416’. Transcribed by Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.117–119 (Appendix 2, document 44).
26. ‘Sembra incredibile, ma evidentemente è così’ writes Montecuccoli degli Erri, the latest to conduct this search (op. cit., 1999, p.79). Copies comprised of 18 plates are recorded in the book trade, however none can now be traced, and its integrity validated. The most tantalising of these copies is one ‘with 17 full-page finely engraved plates after and by Marieschi and engraved title’, bound in ‘contemporary morocco, festooned borders on sides, with the arms of a cardinal on both sides’, which Maggs Bros. offered in their ‘Catalogue 395: Manuscripts, incunables, woodcut books, and books from early presses’ (London 1920), p.152 item 487 (link); and reoffered in their ‘Catalogue 437: Books on art and allied subjects’ (London 1923), p.236 item 1029 (link). Another copy comprising an engraved title and 17 plates, bound in half-morocco, was sold by Hodgson & Co., ‘Valuable miscellaneous books’, London, 12–14 June 1918, lot 936 (Book Auction Records, volume 15, 1918, p.369; link); this may be the copy offered by Sotheby & Co., ‘Catalogue of valuable printed books, autograph letters and historical documents’, 1–3 March 1965, lot 688 (sold for £360 to Colnaghi).
27. J.G. Links, Canaletto and his patrons (New York 1977), pp.56–57, suggests that the second, enlarged edition of the 1735 Prospectus Magni Canalis Venetiarum, was ‘a rejoinder to Marieschi’s book’; compare Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), p.77.
28. The print is published by Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.79, 160, considered as a ‘rara “prova” anteriore al 1º stato, con correzioni manoscritte’. Among the pen corrections are ‘accurate’ (replacing ‘acurate’), ‘typisque’ (‘tijspisque’), ‘eduntur’ (‘aeduntur’).
29. Compare Joseph Jérôme Le Français de Lalande, Voyage d’un François en Italie, fait dans les années 1765 & 1766 (Paris: Desaint, 1769), viii, p.10 (‘Magnificentiores selectioresque urbis Venetiarum prospectus, quos olim Michael Marieschi Venetus Pictor & Architectus in plerisque tabulis depinxit, nunc vero ab ipsomet accuratè delineante incidente typisque mandante iterum in 17 æreis tabulis in lucem ceduntur. Venetiis 1741’; link); Giovanni Antonio Moschini, Della letteratura veneziana del secolo xviii fino a’ nostri giorni (Venice 1806–1808), p.96 (‘Magnifientiores Selectioresque urbis Venetiarum prospectus, quos olim Michael Marieschi Venetus pictor et architectus in plerisque tabulis depinxit, nunc vero ab ipsomet accurate delineante incidente typisque mandante iterum in xvii aeris tabulis in lucem eduntur’; link); Bibliothèque de M. Quatremère de Quincy… Collection d’ouvrages, relatifs aux Beaux-Arts et à l’Archéologie, catalogue for an auction sale, Paris, 27 May 27–6 June 1850, lot 412 (‘Magnificentiores selectioresque urbis Venetiarum prospectus quos olim Michael Marieschi… in plerisque tabulis depinxit, nunc vero ab ipsomet accurate delineante, incidente, typisque mandante, iterum in xvii æreis tabulis in lucem æduntur’; link).
30. ‘Inventario dei bene esistenti nella casa di Michele Marieschi’ (see above, note 25): ‘Rami Intagliati N.o 23 di Peso alla sutella [sic] libre 165 a D.ti 1 la libbra – Val D.ti 165 grossi’. Perspectival set of a large courtyard, with caption: Eximii prospectus Atrii ex pluribus architecturæ caracteribus excogitatus; cuius exemplum in teatro depictum plauderetur. Totum a Michaele Marieschi recens inuentum, ac incisum; image. The print is believed to be Marieschi’s first etching, executed c. 1736; cf. The Glory of Venice: Art in the Eighteenth Century, catalogue for an exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1994; National Gallery of Art, Washington, dc, 1995, edited by Jane Martineau and Andrew Robison (New Haven and London 1994), no. 164, pp.259, 468; Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.142–143, p.183 no. 23. Impressions of this print were occasionally bound with sets of the vedute, as for example in the copy recently with Ursus Rare Books (New York): ‘oblong folio, 570 × 476 mm, bound in full contemporary binding [sic] of Italian calf, marbled endpapers’ ($225,000; record).
31. Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), nos. 12, 17, 19, 20; cf. idem, pp.149–151.
32. The problem of whether all the figures in Marieschi’s painted and etched vedute are by him has given rise to much debate. Succi, op cit. (1987), rejects the suggestion of older authorities that the foreground figures were added either by G.B. Tiepolo or Francesco Fontebasso.
33. See above, footnote 2.
34. See Louise Lippincott, ‘Arthur Pond’s journal of receipts and expenses, 1734–1750’ in The Volume of the Walpole Society 54 (1988), pp.220–333. Pond sold ‘Prints of Marieschi, views of Venice’ on 19 February 1746 for £2 2s (p.276); he bought ‘Set of views of Marieschi’ on 16 August 1746 for £1 11s 6d (p.281) and sold to ‘Daniel Wray Esq Marieschi’s views of Venice’ on 8 January 1747 for £1 12s 6d (p.284). Pond also bought ‘A Book of Views of Venice’ on 12 July 1745 (p.272). Pond’s source may have been the Parisian printseller Pierre-Jean Mariette, with whom he apparently maintained an account; Mariette (1694–1774), in turn, had commercial connections with the Venetian connoisseur Anton Maria Zanetti (1679–1757).
35. A series of seven views apparently dated 1744 or 1745 are reported; a set of twelve prints is listed in John Bowles & Son, Catalogue of Maps, Prints, Copy-Books, &c (London 1753), p.40 no. 42 (view). Impressions from the latter series are in the British Museum (link).
36. Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Notarile Atti, Pietro Bonaldi, B. 2174, c. 190; transcribed in Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.125–128 (Appendix 2, document 59): ‘N.o diecisette libri Vedutte del Marieschi’; ‘N.o ventidue Rami d’Intaglio opere del Sig.r Marieschi, di Vedutte’); idem, p.144.
37. Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Giudici dell’Esaminador, b. 16, n. 12; transcribed in Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.131–132 (Appendix 2, document 70): ‘Rami ad uso di stampa esistenti in una cassella: N. venti due Rami ad uso di stampa’. The sets of prints are listed in an associated document. prepared 9 March 1757: Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Inquisitori alle Acque, Calcoli con Testamenti, b. 79, n. 52; transcribed in Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.133–136 (Appendix 2, document 72): ‘N.o 50 corpi di vedute in carta nelle mani del stampador’. The printer may be the calcografo Giovanni (Zuanne) Lazzari, who is listed among Albotto’s creditors; idem, pp.76, 100. For Albotto, see Mario Manzelli, Michele Marieschi e il suo alter-ego Francesco Albotto, second edition (Venice 2002); Filippo Pedrocco, ‘Michele Marieschi, the “Picture Shops” and Francesco Albotto’ in Visions of Venice, Paintings of the 18 th century (London 2002), pp.169–170.
38. Montecuccoli degli Erri and Pedrocco, op. cit. (1999), pp.144–145, 147.
39. The title-plate now bears Wagner’s address: Venduntur in uico Juliani dicto in Merceri apud Josephum Wagner Venettijs. A copy in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin (os 2697) is located by Peter Dreyer, Vedute, architektonisches Capriccio und Landschaft in der venezianischen Graphik des 18. Jahrhunderts: eine Ausstellung aus den Beständen des Berliner Kupferstichkabinetts (Berlin 1985), p.46, who comments ‘Es zeigt die Platten zum großen Teil stark überarbeitet’. The copy in Princeton University Art Museum, Gift of Frank Jewett Mather Jr. (?), x1938-12 a-v, has been digitised (view). The Cicognara/Vatican Library copy filmed for the Cicognara Library Program (microfiche 4040) belongs to the Wagner issue.
40. The title-plate now bears Pedrali’s address: Appo. Gio. Maria Pedrali S. Giovanni Evangelista. Venezia N. 2164.
41. Compare Edward Heawood, Watermarks mainly of the 17th and 18th centuries (Hilversum 1950), nos. 1854, 1860 (similar watermarks incorporating the Honig name).
42. Kongl. svenska vitterhets-academiens handlingar [Del 1], Förste delen (Stockholm: Lars Salvius, 1755), in Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, Shelfmark: Prakt; reproduced by Rudbeck, op. cit. (1910–1914), pp.28–29, fig. 14.
43. The same decoration appears on an unidentified edition of L’Histoire des insectes, reproduced by Rudbeck, ‘Kristoffer Schneidler: en Stockholmsbokbindare’, op. cit. (1910), p.92 fig.40: ‘Rygg från 1750-talet. Oktav, 16,8 × 3,5 cm’; ‘Dessa vackra rokokostämplar användes af Schneidler hufvudsakligen på 1750-talet. Äfven den stämpel, som afslutar ryggdekoreringen uppåt och nedåt, har rokokomotiv och ansluter sig väl till de öfriga stämplarna’. Identical decoration occurs on the volume cited in footnote 40.
44. Detail from the binding on Carl von Linné, Museum s:æ r:æ m:tis Ludovicæ Ulricæ reginæ svecorum, gothorum, vandalorumque &c. &c. &c. In quo animalia rariora, exotica, imprimis insecta & conchilia describuntur & determinantur prodromi instar editum (Stockholm 1764), in Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, shelfmark: Sv. Praktsaml (record; view). Other volumes decorated by this arms block are Benedetto Varchi, Histoire des révolutions de Florence sous les Médicis (Paris 1765), in Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, Kulturarvet Uka Bokband 1700-t. Sverige 6 a (view); a binding reproduced by Rudbeck, op. cit. (1910–1914), pp.28–29, pl. 14; Francisco Henriquez Florez, Medallas de las colonias, municipios y pueblos antiguos de España (Madrid 1757–1758), reproduced by Strandberg, op. cit. (2001), p.18; and an unidentified book (view).
45. London, British Museum, 1861,0608.474-495 (record). ‘In a xixc binding supplied by the British Museum bindery’ (174*.b.20).
46. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département Estampes et photographie, BC-25-BOITE FOL (record). Bound in contemporary red morocco with the arms of Louis xv (E. Olivier, G. Hermal, and R. de Roton, Manuel de l'amateur de reliures armoriées françaises (Paris 1924–1938), no. 2495 fer 2).