Ephemeral architecture: scenography, festival structuresThere are 113 items
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Sommare beschrijuinghe vande triumphelijcke Incomst vanden doorluchtighen ende hooghgheboren Aerts-hertoge Matthias binnen die Princelijcke stadt van Brussele, in t’iaer ons Heeren M.D.LXXVIII. den xviij dach Januarij
Antwerp, Christopher Plantin, 1579A lavishly illustrated description of the triumphal entry into Brussels on 18 January 1578, of Archduke Matthias of Austria (1557-1616), brother of the Emperor Rudolph, to take his oaths as Governor-General of The Netherlands, and of festivities during the days following. Our copy was bound for Ferdinand Hoffmann, baron of Grünpühel and Strechau (1540-1607), whose library comprised at his death more than ten thousand volumes, the modern acquisitions ordinarily bound in green-stained vellum, as here.
Bound with Houwaert, Johan Baptista. Oratie der Ambassadeuren vanden doorluchtighen Prince Matthias Aertshertoge van Oostenrijcke… Verhaelt inden Rijckxdach gehouden tot Wormes, voor die Raetsheeren ghedeputeert by die Princen Electeurs, ende ander Ambassadeurs ende Ghecommitteerde van t'heylich Roomsche Rijcke… Rhetorijckelicke in ons Nederlantsche tale ouerghestelt, door Jean Baptista Houwaert. Antwerp, Christopher Plantin, 1578
Also in the volume is a verse translation by Houwaert of the famous speech delivered (in Latin) on 7 May 1578, by Philippe de Marnix de Sainte Aldegonde (1540-1598), before a delegation of the Diet (Reichstag) of Worms, a fruitless appeal to gain the German princes to the cause of the States-General against the Spanish. Of this work, only five other copies are known.
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L’Ermiona del S.r Marchese Pio Enea Obizzi. Per introduzione d’vn Torneo à piedi, & à cavallo e d’vn Balletto rappresentato in Musica nella Citta di Padoua l’Anno M DCXXXVI dedicata al Sereniss.o Prencipe di Venetia Francesco Erizo descritta dal S. Nicolò Enea Bartolini, Gentilhuomo, & Academ.o Senese
Padua, Paolo Frambotto, 1638The illustrated libretto of an opera performed in Padua on 11 April 1636 by a travelling company of “mercenarii musici”, as the prelude to a tournament in the Cavallerizza di Prato della Valle of which Obizzi was the promoter. A prose description of the horse ballet and tournament by Nicolò Enea Bartolini is interspersed throughout Obizzi’s verse libretto; the music, by the Roman composer Giovanni Felice Sances, was not printed. Unlike previous operas, L’Ermiona was not commissioned to celebrate a special occasion, nor was it performed before an audience exclusively made-up of the nobility. The architect and stage designer Alfonso Rivarola (called “Il Chenda”) set up a temporary wooden theatre with five vertical tiers of separated boxes accessed from the rear by corridors and common staircases. It is the first major Italian box theatre on record and had immediate influence, guiding the design of the new Teatro San Cassiano, the first public opera stage in Venice, where a year later the modern tradition of commercial opera was inaugurated. Fifteen folding engraved plates reproduce Rivarola’s settings and stage machinery. -
Sieg-Streit deß Lufft und Wassers Freuden-Fest zu Pferd zu dem Glorwürdigisten Beyläger Beeder Kayserlichen Majestäten Leopoldi deß Ersten Römischen Kaysers. und Margarita, Gebohrner Königlichen Infantin auß Hispanien dargestellet in dero Kayserlichen Residentz Statt Wienn
Vienna, Matthäus Cosmerovius, 1667A description (with libretto interspersed) of one of the most magnificent of Hapsburg court entertainments, a balletto à cavallo performed on 24 and 31 January 1667 in the inner court square (Innerer Burghof) in Vienna, to celebrate the marriage of the Emperor Leopold I (1640-1705) to the Spanish Infanta Margarita Teresa (1651-1673). The spectacle, involving around a thousand luxuriously dressed actors and two hundred musicians, was created and produced by the Florentine impresario Alessandro Carducci, aided by Carlo Pasetti of Ferrara, who designed theatrical machinery and scenes. “For centuries… [it] has been considered the greatest horse ballet in history” (International Encyclopedia of the Dance).Bound with Schmelzer, Johann Heinrich (circa 1620/1623-1680). Arie per il balletto à cavallo, nella festa rappresentata per le gloriosissime nozze delle SS. CC. MM.tà di Leopoldo Primo, Imperatore Augustissimo, et di Margherita Infanta di Spagna. Vienna, Matthäus Cosmerovin, 1667
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Varie opere di Prospettiua inventate da Ferdinando Galli d:o il Bibiena Bolognese Pittore, et Architetto dell A: SS.ma del Sig:re Duca di Parma Raccolte da Pietro Abbati, et intagliate da Carlo Antonio Buffagnotti
Bologna, Le diede in Luce, e Stampò Giacomo Camillo Mercati in Bologna, c. 1719The Varie opere di Prospettiua is a collection of 72 mostly large-format plates documenting Ferdinando Galli Bibiena’s early activity as a designer of theatrical scenery and ephemeral architecture. It was assembled by Pietro Giovanni Abbati (fl. 1683-1745), a pupil of Ferdinando Bibiena during his tenure as “Pittore di Corte” to the Farnese Dukes of Parma, in collaboration with Carlo Antonio Buffagnotti, an industrious printmaker from Bologna. The work apparently had entered commerce in some form by 1704. In our copy the title is in second state, with its date (variously read as 1701 or 1707) erased. An obscure printseller, Giacomo Pelegrino Longhi, was responsible for the reissue, which incorporates eleven prints of scenery designed by Bibiena and executed by Abbati for spectacles performed in Turin in 1699. -
Prints documenting firework macchine designed for the annual Festa della Chinea
Rome, 1722-1785The “Presentazione della Chinea” was a secular homage to the Holy See organised each year on the vigil and feast of SS. Pietro e Paolo (28-29th June), by the Roman ambassador of the King of Naples. The ceremony originated in the thirteenth century, when Charles of Anjou accepted the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a fief of the Church, and continued until 1788. The series of Chinea prints commences in 1722, when the ceremony was revived after a twenty-two-year hiatus engendered by the War of Spanish Succession, and elaborated by the performance of fireworks on successive evenings; it ends in 1786, two years before Ferdinand IV permanently suspended public payment of the tribute. Altogether, 106 prints were issued (no prints were issued in the years 1734-1737, 1768, 1777, 1779-1781, 1783-1784, 1786-1787, although the ceremony was conducted in each of these years except 1735-1737 and 1768).
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Aplauso real, aclamacion afectuosa, y Obsequio reverente, que en lucìdo Festejo de Mascara Joco-seria consagraron los Escolasticos Alumnos del Colegio Mayor de S.to Thomás de Aquino, del Orden de Predicadores, de la muy Noble, y muy Leal Ciudad de Sevilla, en el dia 2. de Mayo de este año de 1742. Al Serenissimo Señor Infante Cardenal Don Luis Jayme de Borbon, y Farnese. En celebracion de la possession, que de el Arzobispado de Sevilla tomo, â nombre de su Alteza Real, su Co-Administrador el Illustrissimo S.r D. Gabriel Torres de Navarra
Seville, Imprenta de los Recientes en la Pajeria, [1742]A description of a musical procession (mascara joco-seria) performed in Seville by students of the Dominican Colegio Mayor de Santo Tomás de Aquino, on 2 May 1742, to celebrate the appointment of the Infante Cardinal Luis Antonio Jaime de Borbón (1727-1785) as Bishop of Seville. Three solemn and one comic floats were designed by Domingo Martínez (circa 1688-1750), painter and architect of the Cathedral of Segovia, and engraved by Augustin Moreno. The fourth carriage (Philip V and Elisabetta Farnese depicted as the parents of Jupiter, with eight students representing gods from Olympus) is shown passing the Colegio de Santo Tomás, and is the only known view of that building. -
Groß-fürstlicher Tugend-Geist des aus dem uralten hoch-adelichen Geschlecht deren Echteren von Mespelbrunn entsprossenen Julii magni… nun verherrlichet in seinem… Enckel… Herrn Anselmo Francisco… von Ingelheim, genannt Echter von Mespelbrunn als den 29. Augusti… 1746… erwählten Bischoffen zu Wirtzburg… Bey einem von Burgermeistern und Rath erbauten Ehren-Gerüst durch vielfältige Heraldische, wie auch Genealogische Fürstellungen der Hertz-innigst frolockenden Residentz-Stadt Wirtzburg fürgezeigt und abgebildet unter Anordnung und Obfolg Josephi Michaelis Laudensack, dermahligen Ober-Burgermeistern und Stadt-Baumeistern. Mit beigefügter vorgängiger Glückwünschung
Würzburg, [Johann] Jakob Christoph Kleyer, 1746Description of an “Ehren-Gerüst” an ephemeral structure “50. Schuh hohe, und 70. Schuh breite” built in Würzburg for celebrations on 29 August 1746 of the election of Anselm Franz von Ingelheim as Bishop of Würzburg. The unnamed architect was supervised by “Oberbürgermeister” Johann Michael Laudensack. His construction, ornamented with painted or gilded columns and pediments, allegorical statuary, paintings, and other emblematic and heraldic decorations, and illuminated by many hundreds of candles, was drawn by Johann Georg Bernhard Fischer (1719-1748), the foremost draughtsman working in the Baubüro of Balthasar Neumann, and engraved by Johann Balthasar Gutwein (1702-1785). -
Eucharisticon Deo Aedificanti, Beatissimae Virgini Mariae Opitulanti, Sanctis Martyribus, Faustino, Simplicio Et Beatrici, Patrocinantibus, Eminentissimo Ac Celsissimo S.R.I. Principi Ac Domino, Domino Joanni Friderico Carolo, Dei Gratia S. Sedis Moguntinae Archi-Episcopo &c. &c. Consecranti, In Dedicatione Solenni Et Prima Novae Basilicae Amorbacensis Devotissime Recitatum: Accinente Propheta: Magna Est Gloria Domus Istius Novissimae, Engelbertinae, Plusquam Primae. Aggae 2. v. 10. Anno MDCCXXXVII. Die V. Novembris. [Sub-title:] Die von Gott gezierte mit dem Lamm vermählte Geistliche Braut; als… Joannes Frider. Carolus… das herrlich-schöne neu-erbaute Gottes-Haus eines hochlöbl. Closters Amorbach 1747 hochfeyerlich einzuweyhen gnädigst geruheten
Frankfurt am Main, Franz Varrentrapp, 1747A volume commemorating the rebuilding of the Benedictine abbey church at Amorbach in Lower Franconia (suppressed in 1803, now Fürstlich Leiningensche Hofkirche). The abbey had been founded in the eighth century and in 1734, during millennial celebrations, it was decided to rebuild its church. Plans were drawn by the Mainz court architect Maximilian von Welsch and construction commenced in 1742; by 1744, the “crème de la crème” of South German Rococo decorators were working in the church: the stuccoists Johann Michael Feichtmayr and Johann Georg Üblherr, and the painter Matthäus Günther. The new church was consecrated on 5 November 1747 by the Archbishop of Mainz, Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, although it was not yet finished (Hochaltar and Chorgitter, completed 1750; Kanzel, 1752; Westorgel, 1782). The first of the two folding engravings is a front and side elevation showing the spires and buttresses which Von Welsch had designed for the church, not as built. The second engraving, a ground plan and section, drawn by the architect Johann Georg Bernard Fischer for the engraver Johann Balthasar Gutwein, suggests rather than represents the stucco and painted decoration; it also appears to antedate completion of the church. Only four copies can be traced, all in Germany. -
Schönbornische Ehren-Zierd, Gecrönet durch die Herrlichste Groß-Thaten Christlicher Gerechtigkeit Weyland Ihro Excellentz… Rudolphi Francisci Erwini Grafen von Schönborn… bey offentlicher Trauer-vollen Leich-Besingnuß in dero prächtigst-errichteten Creutz-Capellen zu Wiesentheyd den 8. Octobris 1754 in einer Lob- und Trauer-Rede fürgestellt
Würzburg, Marcus Antonius Engmann, 1754The “Leichenpredigt” delivered on 8 October 1754 in the Kapelle des Heiligen Kreuzes, Mauritiuskirche, Wiesentheid, during obsequies for Rudolf Franz Erwein Graf von Schönborn (died 22 September 1754). A large print engraved by Johann Balthasar Gutwein depicts the castrum doloris on which the corpse had been exhibited. Four copies can be traced, all in German libraries. -
Der Jn dem Weege Der Wahrheit und Gerechtigkeit Eccli. 34. 22. Geliebte des Herren 2. Reg. 12. 25. Amandus. Das ist: Der von hohen Tugenden und Fürstlichen Thaten gepriesene ewiger Gedächtnus-Würdige Lebens-Wandel Weyland… Amandi, Ersten Bischoffen Wie auch Abbten zu Fulda… Bey Höchst Deroselben Leich-Besingnuß… in einer Leich- und Ehren Rede Den 10. Mertz 1757. Jn der hohen Dom-Kirche ad S. Salvatorem zu Fulda Vorgetragen.
Fulda, Johann Christoph Dempter, 1757A Sammelband gathering three publications concerning the obsequies for Amandus (Friedrich Franz Ludwig) von Buseck, Fürstbischof of Fulda, who had died at three o’clock in the morning of 4 December 1756, at his Schloß Fasanerie-Adolphseck, was embalmed the same day, afterwards transferred to Fulda, and interred on 13 December 1756 in Fulda Domkirche. His obsequies were twice postponed: first, until after the election of his successor, Fürstbischof Adalbert von Walderdorff (17 January 1757), then again to enable the attendance of distinguished guests. Bound first in the volume is the Leichenpredigt delivered on 10 March 1757 by Johann Kolbinger, a monk of the Benedictine abbey of Ottobeuren, and professor of canon law at Fulda; our copy is illustrated by a large folding plate not ordinarily present, depicting the Trauergerüst erected in the Kapelle des Residenzschlosses, on which the corpse had reposed three months previously.Bound with [Anonymous]. Monumentum Mortis In Memoriam Vitae Et Viventis Post Funera Virtutis Amandi… Quando… Adalbertus Electus Episcopus & Abbas Fuldensis… Reverendissimo & Celsissimo Antecessori Suo In Ecclesia Cathedrali Ad S. Salvatorem Solemnibus Exequiis Parentavit. Eidemque Cum immenso fere Totius Fuldae Moerore In Catastrum Mortuorum Relato Hoc Castrum Doloris Ad perpetuam Virtutum & meritorum ipsius memoriam & gloriam Adornavit. Fulda, Johann Christoph Dempter, 1757
Bound with Weizell, Johann Georg. Ordentlicher Leich-Conduct Weyland Des Hochwürdigsten Fürsten und Herrn Herrn Amandi, Bischoffen und Abbten zu Fulda… Wie derselbe Den 10. Martii 1757. aus der Hochfürstl. Residentz In die hohe Dom-Kirchen gehalten worden, und was nach Absterben des höchst-seeligsten Fürstens auf der Fasanerie, und von dannen bis Fuld sich zugetragen. Fulda, Johann Christoph Dempter, 1757The second work is an anonymous description of the castrum doloris erected in March 1757 in the crossing of the Domkirche, explicating its numerous emblems of mourning, transcribing lemmas and other inscriptions, with two large plates signed by the same printmaker, J.F. Pfeiffer of Fulda. The third work combines a “seating plan” of those present with the text of the “Lob- und Danck-Rede” delivered on 10 March 1757 by Chancellor Johann Weizell.
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Der Fromme, gerechte und standhaftige Fürst: vorgestellet In einer Lob- und Trauer-Rede über den Höchst-betrübten Todtes-Fall Des hochwürdigsten Fürsten und herrn, Herrn Joannis Friderici Caroli Des Heiligen Stuhls zu Mayntz Erz-Bischoffen… Da Höchst-Deroselben Leich-Besingnuß mit drey-tägigen Grosen Ehren-Gepräng In der allhiesigen Erz-Hohen Dhom-Kirchen Den 18. 19. und 20sten Julii 1763. gehalten worden
Mainz, Johann Benjamin Waylandt, 1763The “Leichenpredigt” delivered in Mainz Cathedral on 18 July 1763, for Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, Archbishop of Mainz and of Worms (died 4 June 1763). Documents in the Staatsarchiv Mainz newly published by Luzie Bratner supply many details of the planning and conduct of the obsequies. Among these is a letter – dated 7 June, before the wake had been concluded, and the body embalmed – from the “Dom-Capitulischer Kupfer-Stecher”, Wilhelm Christian Rücker, to the Cathedral Chapter, asking for permission to engrave the castrum doloris on which the remains would lie in repose, for public viewing and mourning, before interment in the Cathedral. Permission was granted, and Rücker’s large print (platemark 340 × 430 mm) depicting the corpse on a draped platform in the candle-lit Schloßkapelle St. Gangolph, guarded by soldiers, became the frontispiece to our volume. -
Les Fêtes en Orient et dans l'Antiquité (Les plaisirs et les fêtes)
Paris, Rombaldi, éditeur, 1929(31 cm), (4) 395 (1) pp., plus frontispiece and 23 plates (pls.I-XXIII; pls.VIII and XIV are folding), numerous text illustrations. Collector’s blue cloth binding, skiver lettering-piece. - One of “300 exemplaires sur papier vélin pur fil”. ¶ Very good copy. -
Les Fêtes en Europe au XVIIe siècle (Les plaisirs et les fêtes)
Paris, Rombaldi, éditeur, 1930(31 cm), (6) 394 pp., plus 9 (of 24) plates, numerous text illustrations. Collector’s blue cloth binding, skiver lettering-piece. - One of “300 exemplaires sur papier vélin pur fil”. ¶ Seriously defective copy, lacking frontispiece and 14 plates hors texte. -
Le feste fiorentine attraverso i secoli : Firenze magnifica con 185 illustrazioni
Florence, R. Bemporad & Figlio, 1930(22 cm), viii, 314 pp., illustrations. Publisher’s printed wrappers. - A well-illustrated account of Florentine festivals from the Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century. The work complements the author’s Le Feste Fiorentine attraverso i secoli: le feste per San Giovanni (Florence 1926), and its index covers the material in both volumes. ¶ Wrappers torn, one corner missing; neatly backed with cloth. -
Le Livre des fêtes françaises
Paris, Librairie de France, 1930 (1931)(28 cm), (4) xii, 380 (18) pp., frontispiece and 10 leaves of colour plates (1 folding), text illustrations. Publisher’s quarter-cloth, pictorial boards. ¶ Boards slightly rubbed, corners very slightly worn; a superior copy. -
Le Feste e le maschere veneziane (catalogue of an exhibition held at Ca' Rezzonico, Venice, 6 May-31 October 1937)
[Venice], Officine grafiche C. Ferrari, 1937(25 cm), 58 pp. 93 plates. Publisher’s printed wrappers. ¶ Fine copy. -
Versieringen bij blijde inkomsten, gebruikt in de Zuidelijke Nederlanden gedurende de 16e en 17e eeuw (Maerlantbibliotheek, 13)
Antwerp & Utrecht, De Sikkel & Uitg. Mij. W. De Haan De Sikkel, 1943(25 cm), 199 (1) pp., 90 illustrations. Publisher’s cloth-backed pictorial boards, dust jacket. - Discussion of the spectacular decorations created for triumphal entries and other court festivals in the southern Netherlands, 1515 to I635. ¶ Dust jacket worn, small pieces missing; otherwise a very good copy. -
Sixteenth & seventeenth century theatre design in Paris : an exhibition of drawings from the National Museum of Stockholm with models from the Theatre Museum, Drottningholm (catalogue of an exhibition organised by the Arts Council of Great Britain, held in the Arts Council Gallery, London, 27 October-28 November 1956)
London, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1956(22 cm), 43 (1) pp., [8] p. of plates. Publisher’s pictorial wrappers. - Exhibition of drawings from the collections of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, by some fifteen Italian and French artists, including Primaticcio, Bérain and his studio, d’Olivet, Henry Gissey, and Carlo Vigarini. Two scale models of the Charles XII Theatre at the King’s House, Stockholm, and of the Palace Theatre, Drottningholm, also were exhibited. ¶ Very good, unmarked copy. -
Le feste veneziane : I giochi popolari, le cerimonie religiose e di governo
Florence, Sansoni – RCS Libri, 1961(29 cm), 380 pp., 9 colour plates, 32 black & white plates, illustrations. Publisher’s cloth, pictorial dust jacket. ¶ As new. -
The Italian sixteenth and seventeenth century catafalques (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1961)
Ann Arbor, University Microfilms, 1961(23 cm) iv, 296 pp., [40] p. of illustrations. Unbound. - Photocopy of typescript. Berendsen’s unpublished dissertation (New York University, 1961; University Microfilms 62-3313) is a pioneer study of temporary architecture erected for public mourning. ¶ Missing pp.242-243.
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