Niels Slange and Hans Gram | Den Stormaegtigste Konges Christian den Fierdes, 1749, fine Danish binding - photo 1
Niels Slange and Hans Gram | Den Stormaegtigste Konges Christian den Fierdes, 1749, fine Danish binding - photo 2

Niels Slange and Hans Gram | Den Stormaegtigste Konges Christian den Fierdes, 1749, fine Danish binding

Lot 80
28.11.2023 14:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 3 048
AuctioneerSotheby´s
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1076603
Lot 80 | Niels Slange and Hans Gram | Den Stormaegtigste Konges Christian den Fierdes, 1749, fine Danish binding
Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
Niels Slange and Hans Gram

Den Stormaegtigste Konges Christian den Fierdes, Konges til Danmark og Norge… Histoire. Copenhagen: Hans Kongel, 1749

FIRST EDITION, folio (402 x 270 mm.), 2 engraved portraits, SPLENDID EARLY 19TH CENTURY RED STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, VERY INTRICATELY GILT, BY AN APPRENTICE IN THE WORKSHOP OF DANISH MASTER BOOKBINDER NIELS ANTHON, covers with border of pointillé tulips, sunbursts at corners, inner strapwork frame with round and oval compartments on the sides and heart-shaped compartments at corners, each of these containing either a floral ornament or a sunburst, central panel tooled with rows of strapwork cruciform compartments filled with massed botanical tools, including pomegranates and acanthus leaves, the alternating compartments with a tall stem of blossoms emerging from a vase, raised bands, spine compartments with strapwork ovals containing stylized floral drawer-handle tools, gilt lettering, turn-ins with gilt lattice formed by star tools, blue glazed endpapers, flyleaves watermarked “Whatman 1819”, gilt edges, first dozen leaves, portraits, and one other bifolium with overall light browning, a bit of wear to corners

This is a superb example of the binding style of Copenhagen craftsman Niels Anthon, who apparently used copies of this definitive biography of the great Danish king Christian IV as the work to be bound as a sort of demonstration piece or “final examination” for his apprentices. (The Library of Congress and the Wormsley Library have similarly bound copies of this work, and another is illustrated in Nielson and Berg’s Danmarks Bogbindere.)

Son of master bookbinder Peter Anthon, the younger Anthon (1761-1829) apparently devised this intricate design and selected this massive (and thus very challenging) work to test the abilities of his apprentices, presumably before they could be trusted to produced bindings for clients of the workshop. Based on the watermarks of the flyleaves, this binding was produced c.1820.
Auction house category:Prints, graphics, books
Address of auction Sotheby´s
34-35 New Bond Street
W1A 2AA London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2023
Phone +44 (0) 20 7293 5000
Phone +1 212 606 7000
Email
4FQ.AE2YUKFA@AYGLGHC3Y@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.