Samuel von Pufendorf | Sieben Bucher von denen thaten Carl Gustavs Königs in Schweden, Nuremberg, 1697, fine engraved plates

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£ 4 000
Auction dateClassic
28.11.2023 14:00UTC +01:00
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ID 1076590
Lot 67 | Samuel von Pufendorf | Sieben Bucher von denen thaten Carl Gustavs Königs in Schweden, Nuremberg, 1697, fine engraved plates
Samuel von Pufendorf

Sieben Bucher von denen thaten Carl Gustavs Königs in Schweden. Nuremberg: Christoph Riegels, 1697

FIRST EDITION IN GERMAN, folio (365 x 225mm.), contemporary stiff vellum, yapp edges, spine lettered in ink, engraved title page vignette, historiated initials, vignette head- and tailpieces, illustrations of coins in the text, 128 FINE ENGRAVED PLATES (allegorical frontispiece, 12 portraits, 99 double-page plates, and 16 folding plates, ONE OF THESE A VERY LONG FOLDING PANORAMA of a funeral procession), occasional slight browning or foxing

Originally issued, in Latin, in the previous year, this 1697 edition is the first in German of a beautifully illustrated work detailing the short but eventful life of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden (1622-1660). His reign was very short as well, lasting just six years and being almost entirely occupied by what is known today as the Second Northern War (1655-60). That conflict primarily revolved around Sweden’s forceful expansion into Poland, Lithuania, and Denmark, and included the famous “March across the Belts,” in which Swedish troops made a dangerous (but ultimately successful) gamble by marching across frozen straits to defeat Denmark.

The illustrations here are based on the drawings of Erik Dahlberg, an artist who joined the Swedish army in Poland and kept a detailed record of the sights and events he encountered. The engravings largely comprise battle scenes, maps, palaces, and a few portraits, with many of the plates being ornately framed and often embellished with cartouches, garlands, drapery, putti, and/or emblematic objects. Especially impressive is the exceptional panorama of Charles X Gustav’s funeral procession. Comprising 13 folding sheets pasted together, it depicts a great line of mourners making their way through the streets of Stockholm from the royal palace to the Church of St. Francis. Along the procession route we see crowded squares, large ships firing their cannon in the harbour, and the beautiful architecture of the capital.

Born in Saxony, Samuel Pufendorf (1632-94) taught law first in Heidelberg and then in Lund, receiving the title of Baron of Sweden before his death. As Historiographer of the Realm from 1676-89, Pufendorf wrote extensively on the history of Sweden; he was also an important proponent of natural law, and his ideas about matters of ecclesiastical government laid the foundation for the division of church and state in Germany.
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