PFINTZING, Melchior (1481-1535). - photo 1

PFINTZING, Melchior (1481-1535).

Lot 115
14.12.2022 10:30UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 50 400
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 870795
Lot 115 | PFINTZING, Melchior (1481-1535).
Estimate value
£ 50 000 – 80 000
PFINTZING, Melchior (1481-1535).

[Theuerdank]. Die geuerlicheiten und einsteils der geschichten des loblichen streytparen und hochberümbten helds und Ritters herr Tewrdannckhs. Nuremberg [printed at Augsburg]: Johann Schönsperger the elder for the emperor Maximilian I, [1517].

A deluxe copy, printed on vellum for presentation by Emperor Maximilian, of the first edition of one of the finest illustrated books of the German Renaissance. Theuerdank is a chivalric poem celebrating the reign of Emperor Maximilian, who appears as the eponymous hero, and follows him as he performs feats and overcomes obstacles along a journey to win Mary of Burgundy (Kunigin Ernreich) as his bride. It forms part of a trilogy, with Weisskunig and Freydal, but was the only one of the three to be published during Maximilian's lifetime.



Maximilian himself was closely involved in all aspects of its lavish production, from its composition to its distribution after printing. He had written first drafts in 1505-1508 and turned over the completion and general editing of the work to Melchior Pfintzing, his private secretary. Maximilian called Schönsperger from Augsburg to Nuremberg to print the work in the imperial city (the only work Schönsperger printed there); a remarkable series of woodcut illustrations – among the finest of the German Renaissance – were cut, commissioned from some of the greatest woodcut artists of the day, Schäufelein, Beck and Burgkmair; and a calligraphic type was specially cast to print it. The design of the type is traditionally attributed to Vinzenz Rockner, Maximilan's court secretary, but seems to derive from the writing books of Leonhard Wagner of Augsburg. It is one of the earliest Fraktur types, which was quickly adopted as a national typographic style which lasted for centuries. Its success was undoubtedly due to the Emperor's patronage (Peter van Wingen, in Vision of a Collector, the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection in the Library of Congress, Washington 1991, 9, p. 31; A.F. Johnson, 'Printing in the Sixteenth Century', The Dolphin, 1938, pp.131-2).



The series of woodblocks similarly had a long life. Designed by a team of the best-known artists of the day and engraved under the direction of Jost Negker, a Flemish type designer and engraver who worked for Schönsperger, they were reused by the latter for a second edition in 1519 and then passed to Heinrich Steiner, who reprinted the text in 1537 and used isolated cuts for other editions. Before 1553 the set was acquired by Egenolff at Frankfurt, in whose family they remained until the end of the century. As late as 1693 the cuts were used for an edition printed at Ulm.



About 40 copies of the first edition were printed on vellum; Van Praet records 31 copies, including several without the final quire, as here. It contained a key (clavis), identifying the characters by their true names. Pasted-in slips correcting text on a few leaves in most vellum copies may indicate that they were printed before the paper copies; however, Van Wingen reached the opposite conclusion based on orthographical changes in the vellum copies (op.cit).

The edition was intended uniquely for presentation by the Emperor. Apparently Maximilian was able to give away no more than a few copies in the short period before his death in 1519, and 6 chests of copies remained in Augsburg in 1526, when their contents were distributed by Archduke Ferdinand, through Marx Treitzsauerwein, as memorials of the late Emperor. Adams P-962; Brunet V, 787; Davies, Fairfax Murray, German 329; Van Praet, Bib. du Roi IV, 347-8; Hollstein V: 416-430 (Burgkmair); Illustrated Bartsch 11: 132, 1-8 (Schaüfelein); Muther 845.



Printed on vellum, royal folio (362 x 243mm). 281 leaves (of 290, without blank P5 and postliminary quire A8). Gothic (fraktur) type, flourished, xylographic title and 118 numbered woodcuts by Jost de Negker and Heinrich Kupferworm after Leonhard Beck (77), Hans Burgkmair (13), Hans Schäufelein (20), and others. Printed correction slips on g6v, m1v, r3v, r5r, and v5r (flourishes just shaved on only 3 leaves [a2, v5 and y4,5], light discolouration on v1-2). 19th-century purple morocco gilt, spine gilt and lettered, wide gilt turn-ins, vellum endleaves, gilt edges; modern black morocco folding case. Provenance: Paul Harth (booklabel; sale Paris, 1985) – A.W. Flühmann (monogram booklabel) – J.R. Ritman (sold Sotheby’s, 6 December 2000, lot 68).





Special notice


No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
Place of origin:Western Europe, Germany, Europe
Auction house category:Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.12.2022 – 13.12.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
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.
?>