II.1A stencil is a piece of pasteboard, or a thin plate of metal, pierced with lines and figures, which are communicated to paper, parchment, or linen, by passing a brush charged with ink or colour over the stencil.II.2Cards—Carten—are mentioned in a book of bye-laws of Nuremberg, between 1380 and 1384. They are included in a list of games at which the burghers might indulge themselves, provided they ventured only small sums. “Awzgenommen rennen mit Pferder, Schiessen mit Armbrusten,Carten, Schofzagel, Pretspil, und Kugeln, umb einen pfenink zwen zu vier poten.” That is:“alwaysexcepting horse-racing, shooting with cross-bows,cards, shovel-board, tric-trac, and bowls, at which a man may bet from twopence to a groat.”—C. G. Von Murr, Journal zur Kunstsgesch. 2 Theil, S. 99.II.3In the town-books of Nuremberg a HansFormansneideroccurs so early as 1397, which De Murr says is not meant for “wood engraver,” but is to be read thus:Hans Forman, Schneider; that is, “Ihon Forman, maister-fashionere,” or, in modern phrase, “tailor.” The word “Karter” also occurs in the same year, but it is meant for a carder, or wool-comber, and not for a card-maker.—C. G. Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 99.II.4“Conscioscia che l’arte e mestier delle carte & figure stampide, che se fano in Venesia è vegnudo a total deffaction, e questo sia per la gran quantità de carte a zugar, e fegure depente stampide, le qual vien fate de fuora de Venezia.” The curious document in which the above passage occurs was discovered by Temanza, an Italian architect, in an old book of rules and orders belonging to the company of Venetian painters. His discovery, communicated in a letter to Count Algarotti, appeared in the Lettere Pittoriche, tom. v. p. 320, et sequent. and has since been quoted by every writer who has written upon the subject.II.5This celebrated version, in the Mœso-Gothic language, is preserved in the library of Upsal in Sweden.II.6Osservazioni sulla Chirotipografia, ossia Antica Arte di Stampare a mano. Opera di D. Vincenzo Requeno. Roma 1810, 8vo.II.7Fuseli, at p. 85 of Ottley’s Inquiry; and Breitkopf, Versuch d. Ursprungs der SpielkartenZu erforschen, 2 Theil, S. 175.II.8Fournier, Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progrès de l’Art de Graver en Bois, p. 79; and Papillon, Traité de la Gravure en Bois, tom. i. p. 20, and Supplement, p. 80.II.9“Liber iste,Laus Virginisintitulatus, continet Lectiones Matutinales accommodatas Officio B. V. Mariæ per singulos anni dies,” &c. At the beginning of the volume is the following memorandum: “Istum librum legavit domna Anna filia domni Stephani baronis de Gundelfingen, canonica in Büchow Aule bte. Marie v’ginis in Buchshaim ord’is Cartusieñ prope Memingen Augusten. dyoc.”—Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 104-105.II.10A fac-simile, of the size of the original, is given in Von Murr’s Journal, vol. ii. p. 104, and in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. i. p. 90, both engraved on wood. There is an imitation engraved on copper, in Jansen’s Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, tom. i.II.11The following announcement appears in the colophon of the Nuremberg Chronicle. “Ad intuitum autem et preces providorum civium Sebaldi Schreyer et Sebastiani Romermaister hunc librum Anthonius Koberger Nurembergiæ impressit. Adhibitis tamen viris mathematicis pingendique arte peritissimis, Michaele Wolgemut et Wilhelmo Pleydenwurff, quorum solerti accuratissimaque animadversione tum civitatum tum illustrium virorum figuræ insertæ sunt. Consummatum autem duodecima mensis Julii. Anno Salutis ñre 1493.”II.12As great a neglect of the rules of perspective may be seen in several of the cuts in the famed edition of Theurdanck, Nuremberg, 1517, which are supposed to have been designed by Hans Burgmair, and engraved by Hans Schaufflein.II.13See Brand’s Popular Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 359-364.—Bohn’s edition.II.14Bibliographical and Picturesque Tour, by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin, D.D. p. 58, vol. ii. second edition, 1829. The De Murr to whom Dr. Dibdin alludes, is C. G. Von Murr, editor of the Journal of Arts and General Literature, published at Nuremberg in 1775 and subsequent years. Von Murr was the first who published, in the second volume of his journal, afac-simile, engraved on wood by Sebast. Roland, of the Buxheim St. Christopher, from a tracing sent to him by P. Krismer, the librarian of the convent. Von Murr, in his Memorabilia of the City of Nuremberg, mentions that Breitkopf had seen a duplicate impression of the Buxheim St. Christopher in the possession of M. De Birkenstock at Vienna.II.15There is every reason in the world to suppose that this wood-cut was executed either in Nuremberg or Augsburg. Buxheim is situated almost in the very heart of Suabia, the circle in which we find the earliest wood engravers established. Buxheim is about thirty English miles from Ulm, forty-four from Augsburg, and one hundred and fifteen from Nuremberg. Von Murr does not notice the pretensions of Ulm, which on his own grounds are stronger than those of his native city, Nuremberg.II.16Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 105, 106.II.17St. Bridget was a favourite saint in Germany, where many religious establishments of the rule of St. Saviour, introduced by her, were founded. A folio volume, containing the life, revelations, and legends of St. Bridget, was published by A. Koberger, Nuremberg, 1502, with the following title: “Das puch der Himlischen offenbarung der Heiligen wittiben Birgitte von dem Kunigreich Schweden.”II.18Those cuts consist of illustrations of the New Testament. There are ten of them, apparently a portion of a larger series, in the British Museum; and they are marked in small letters, a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. k. n. That which is marked g. also contains the words “Opus Jacobi.” In this cut a specimen of cross-hatching may be observed, which was certainly very little practised—if at all—in Italy, before 1500.II.19Mr. Ottley’s reason for considering this cut to be so old is, that “after that period [1400] an artist, who was capable of designing so good a figure, could scarcely have been so grossly ignorant of every effect of linear perspective, as was evidently the case with the author of the performance before us.”—Inquiry, p. 87. Offences, however, scarcely less gross against the rules of linear perspective, are to be found in the wood-cuts in the Adventures of Sir Theurdank, 1517, many of which contain figures superior to that of St. Bridget. Errors in perspective are indeed frequent in the designs of many of the most eminent of Albert Durer’s contemporaries, although in other respects the figures may be correctly drawn, and the general composition good.II.20An engraving of this seal is given in the first volume of Meerman’s Origines Typographicæ.II.21Heineken, Neue Nachrichten von Künstlern und Kunstsachen. Dresden und Leipzig, 1786, S. 143.II.22In the Table des Matières to Jansen’s Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, Paris, 1808, we find “Dünkelspül (Nicolas) graveur Allemand en 1443.” After this specimen of accuracy, it is rather surprising that we do not find St. Alexius referred to also as “un graveur Allemand.”II.23St. Alexius returning unknown to his father’s house, as a poor pilgrim, was treated with great indignity by the servants.II.24Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 113-115.II.25Jansen, Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, tom. i. p. 237. Jansen’s own authority on subjects connected with wood engraving is undeserving of attention. He is a mere compiler, who scarcely appears to have been able to distinguish a wood-cut from a copper-plate engraving.II.26Idée Générale, p. 251. Hartman Schedel, the compiler of the Nuremberg Chronicle, was accustomed to paste both old wood-cuts and copper-plate engravings within the covers of his books, many of which were preserved in the Library of the Elector of Bavaria at Munich.—Idée Gén. p. 287; and Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 115.II.27Heineken thus speaks of those old devotional cuts: “On trouve dans la Bibliothèque de Wolfenbüttel de ces sortes d’estampes, qui représentent différens sujets de l’histoire sainte et de dévotion, avec du texte vis à vis de la figure, tout gravé en bois. Ces pièces sont de la même grandeur que nos cartes à jouer: elles portent 3 pouces de hauteur sur 2 pouces 6 lignes de largeur.”—Idée Générale, p. 249.II.28A copy of the Speculum belonging to the city of Harlem had at the commencement, “Ex Officina Laurentii Joannis Costeri. Anno 1440.” But this inscription had been inserted by a modern hand—Idée Générale, p. 449.II.29In the catalogue of Dr. Kloss’s Library, No. 2024, is a “Historia et Apocalypsis Johannis Evangelistæ,” imperfect, printed from wooden blocks. The following are the observations of the editor or compiler of the catalogue: “At the end of the volume is a short note, written by Pope Martin V., who occupied the papal chair from 1417 to 1431. This appears to accord with the edition described by Heineken at page 360, excepting in the doublea, No. 3 and 4.” If the note referred to were genuine, and actually written in the book, a certain date would be at once established. The information, however, comes in a questionable shape, as the Englishrédacteur’spower of ascertaining who were the writers of ancient MS. notes appears little short of miraculous.II.30Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 4, cited in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. i. p. 99.II.31Singer’s Researches into the History of Playing-cards, p. 107.II.32Index Librorum ab inventa Typographia ad annum 1500, No. 37.II.33Mr. Bohn is in possession of a similarly bound volume, namely, “Astexani de Ast, Scrutinium Scripturarum,” printed by Mentelin, without date, but about 1468, on the pig-skin covers of which is printed in bold black letter,Per me Rich-en-bach illigatus in Gysslingen 1470.II.34“Catalogue of the Library of Dr. Kloss of Frankfort,” Nos. 460 and 468. Geisslingen is about fifteen miles north-west of Ulm in Suabia, and Gemund about twelve miles northward of Geisslingen.II.35Mr. Singer, at page 101 of his Researches into the History of Playing-cards, speaks of “onePlebanus of Augsburg,” as if Plebanus were a proper name. It has nearly the same meaning as our own word “Curate.” “Plebanus, Parœcus, Curio, Sacerdos, quiplebipræest; Italis,Piovano; Gallo-Belgis,Pleban. Balbus in Catholico: ‘Plebanus, dominus plebis, Presbyter, qui plebem regit.’—Plebanum vero maxime vocant in ecclesiis cathedralibus seu collegiatis canonicum, cui plebis earum jurisdictioni subditæ cura committitur.”—Du Cange, Glossarium, in verbo “Plebanus.”II.36Idée Générale, pp. 334-370.II.37In the copy of the Biblia Pauperum in the British Museum,Inches.Inches.The largest cut is10-4/8 high, and7-5/8 wide.The smallest —10-1/8 — —7-5/8 —In the Historia Virginis, also in the British Museum,The largest cut is10-3/8 high, and7-2/8 wide.The smallest —9-7/8 — —6-7/8 —II.38The two which are wanting are those numbered 36 and 37—that is, the seconds, and the firstt—in Heineken’s collation. Although there is a memorandum at the commencement of the book that those cuts are wanting, yet the person who has put in the numbers, in manuscript, at the foot of each, has not noticed the omission, but has continued the numbers consecutively, marking that 36 which in a perfect copy is 38, and so on to the rest. A reference to Heineken from those manuscript numbers subsequent to the thirty-fifth cut would lead to error.II.39Witness Rembrandt, who never gets rid of the Dutch character, no matter how elevated his subject may be.II.40Revelations, chap. xi. verses 3d and 4th.II.41Idée Générale, p. 376.II.42Inquiry, vol. i. p. 140.II.43Inquiry, p. 140.II.44Inquiry, p. 144, vol. i.II.45The copy from which the preceding specimens are given was formerly the property of the Rev. C. M. Cracherode, by whom it was left, with the rest of his valuable collection of books, to the British Museum.II.46Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 36. Mr. Ottley cites the passage at p. 139, vol i. of his Inquiry, for the purpose of expressing his dissent from the theory.II.47Landseer’s Lectures on the Art of Engraving, pp. 201-205, 8vo. London, 1807.II.48Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 374. Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 43.II.49Song of Solomon, chap. iv. verse 4.II.50Those arms are to be seen in Sebastiana Munsteri Cosmographia, cap. De Regione Wirtenbergensi, p. 592. Folio, Basiliæ, apud Henrichum Petri, 1554.II.51The backs of many of the old wood-cuts which have been taken by means of friction, still appear bright in consequence of the rubbing which the paper has sustained in order to obtain the impression. They would not have this appearance if the paper had been used in a damp state.II.52This must have been a copy of that which Heineken calls the second edition; no such appearances of a fracture or joining are to be seen in the first.II.53Inquiry, p. 142.II.54“It is a manual or kind of Catechism of the Bible,” says the Rev. T. H. Horne, “for the use of young persons and of the common people, whence it derives its nameBiblia Pauperum,—the Bible of the Poor,—who were thus enabled to acquire, at a comparatively low price, an imperfect knowledge of some of the events recorded in the Scripture.”—Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures, vol. ii. p. 224-5. The young and the poor must have been comparatively learned at that period to be able to read cramped Latin, when many a priest could scarcely spell his breviary.II.55J. G. Schelhorn, Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. iv. p. 297. 8vo. Francofurt. & Lips. 1730. Lichtenberger, Initia Typographica, p. 4, says erroneously, that Schelhorn’s fac-simile was engraved on copper. It is on wood, as Schelhorn himself states at p. 296.II.56J. D. Schœpflin, Vindiciæ Typographicæ, p. 7, 4to. Argentorati, 1760.II.57Ger. Meerman, Origines Typographicæ, P. 1, p. 241. 4to. Hagæ Comit. 1765.II.58Idée Générale, p. 292, note.II.59Camus, speaking of one of those manuscripts compared with the block-book, observes: “Ce dernier abrégé méritoit bien le nom deBiblia Pauperum, par comparison aux tableaux complets de la Bible que je viens d’indiquer. Des ouvrages tels que les tableaux complets ne pouvoient être queBiblia Divitum.”—Notice d’un Livre imprimé à Bamberg en 1462, p. 12, note. 4to. Paris, 1800.II.60“Entre ces abrégés [de la Bible] on remarque leSpeculum Humanæ Salvationiset leBiblia Pauperum. Ces deux ouvrages ont beaucoup d’affinité entre eux pour le volume, le choix des histoires, les moralités, la composition des tableaux. Ils existent en manuscrits dans plusieurs bibliothèques.”—Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 12.II.61“Librorum qui ante Reformationem in scholis Daniæ legebantur, Notitia. Hafniæ, 1784;” referred to by Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 10.II.62Inquiry, vol. i. p. 129.II.63Idée Générale, p. 307, 308.II.64The passages referred to are probably the 8th, 9th, and 10th verses of the xxxivth Psalm; and the 8th verse of the xxixth chapter of Isaiah.II.65“Has autem icones ex sola sculptoris imaginatione et arbitrio fluxisse vel inde liquet, quod idem scriptor sacer in diversis foliis diversa plerumque et alia facie delineatus sistatur, sicuti, v. g. Esaias ac David, sæpius obvii, Protei instar, varias induerunt in hoc opere formas.”—Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. iv. p. 297.II.66Schelhorn has noticed a similar appearance in the old block-book entitled “Ars Memorandi:” “Videas hic nonnunquam literas atramento confluenti deformatas, ventremque illarum, alias album et vacuum, atramentaria macula repletum.” Amœnitat. Liter. tom. i. p. 7.II.67This collection of wood engravings from old blocks was published in three parts, large folio, at Gotha in 1808, 1810, and 1816, under the following title: “Holzschnitte alter Deutscher Meister in den Original-Platten gesammelt von Hans Albrecht Von Derschau: Als ein Beytrag zur Kunstgeschichte herausgegeben, und mit einer Abhandlung über die Holzschneidekunst und deren Schicksale begleitet von Rudolph Zacharias Becker.” The collector has frequently mistaken rudeness of design, and coarseness of execution, for proofs of antiquity.II.68Inquiry, vol. i. p. 130.II.69Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 11.II.70Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 319.II.71Ornhielm’s book was printed in 4to. at Stockholm, 1689. The passage referred to is as follows: “Quosper numeros et signaconscripsisse cum [Ansgarium] libros Rembertus memorat indigitatospigmentorumvocabulo, eos continuisse, palam est, quasdam aut e divinarum literarum, aut pie doctorum patrum scriptis, pericopas et sententias.”II.72“Ces conjectures sont foibles; elles ont été attaquées par Erasme Nyerup dans un écrit publié à Copenhague en 1784. . . . . Nyerup donne à penser que Heinecke a reconnu lui-même, dans la suite, la foiblesse de ses conjectures.”—Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 9.II.73It is sometimes named “Speculum Figuratum;” and Junius in his account of Coster’s invention calls it “Speculum Nostræ Salutis.”II.74The cuts which have the text printed from wood-blocks are Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 26, 27, 46, and 55.—Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 444.II.75Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 474.II.76The “Batavia” or Junius, in which the name of Lawrence Coster first appears as a printer, was published in 1588.II.77Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progrès de l’Art de Graver en Bois. Par M. Fournier le Jeune, 8vo. Paris, 1758.II.78A French translation of Meerman’s letter, which was originally written in Dutch, is given by Santander in his Dictionnaire Bibliographique, tom. i. pp. 14-18, 8vo. Bruxelles, 1805.II.79Dissertation, pp. 29-32. The many mistakes which Fournier commits in his Dissertation, excite a suspicion that he was either superficially acquainted with his subject, or extremely careless. He published two or three other small works on the subject of engraving and printing,—after the manner of “Supplements to an Appendix,”—the principal of which is entitled “De l’Origine et des Productions de l’Imprimerie primitive en taille de bois; avec une refutation des préjugés plus ou moins accredités sur cet art; pour servir de suite à la Dissertation sur l’Origine de l’Art de graver en bois. Paris, 1759.”II.80Heineken seems inclined to consider this as the second Dutch edition; and he only mentions it as the first Dutch edition because it is called so by Meerman.—Idée Gén. pp. 453, 454.II.81Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of Engraving, pp. 205-217. Though differing from Mr. Ottley in the conclusions which he draws from the facts elicited by him respecting the priority of the editions of the Speculum, I bear a willing testimony to the value of his discoveries on this subject, which may rank among the most interesting that have resulted from bibliographical research.II.82Wood-engravers of the present day are accustomed to transfer an old impression from a cut or a page of letter-press to a block in the following manner. They first moisten the back of the paper on which the cut or letter-press is printed with a mixture of concentrated potash and essence of lavender in equal quantities, which causes the ink to separate readily from the paper; next, when the paper is nearly dry, the cut or page is placed above a prepared block, and by moderate pressure the ink comes off from the paper, and leaves an impression upon the wood.II.83The subject is Daniel explaining to Belshazzar the writing on the wall.II.84Heineken gives an account of those twelve additional cuts at page 463 of his Idée Générale. It appears that Veldener also published in the same year another edition of the Speculum, also in quarto, containing the same cuts as the older folios, but without the twelve above mentioned.II.85see textThe following is a reduced copy of the paper-mark, which appears to be a kind of anchor with a small cross springing from a ball or knob at the junction of the arms with the shank. It bears a considerable degree of resemblance to the mark given atpage 62, from an edition of the Apocalypse. An anchor is to be found as a paper-mark in editions of the Apocalypse, and of the Poor Preachers’ Bible. According to Santander, a similar paper-mark is to be found in books printed at Cologne, Louvain, and Utrecht, from about 1470 to 1480.II.86The initial F, at the commencement of this chapter, is a reduced copy of the letter here described.II.87The first book with moveable types and wood-cuts both printed by means of the press is the Fables printed at Bamberg, by Albert Pfister, “Am Sant Valentinus tag,” 1461.II.88“Nostrum vero libellum, cujus gratia hæc præfati sumus, intrepide, si non primum artis inventæ fœtum, certe inter primos fuisse asseveramus.”—Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. i. p. 4.II.89Heineken had seen two editions of this book, and he gives fac-similes of their titles, which are evidently from different blocks. The title at full length is as follows:“Arsmemorandi notabilis per figuras Ewangelistarum hic ex post descriptam quam diligens lector diligenter legat et practiset per signa localia ut in practica experitur.”—“En horridum et incomtum dicendi genus, Priscianumque misere vapulantem!” exclaims Schelhorn.II.90Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 394.II.91Über die frühesten universal historischen Folgen der Erfindung der Buchdruckerkunst, von J. Christ. Freyherrn Von Aretin, S. 18. 4to. Munich, 1808.II.92“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”—St. John’s Gospel, chap. i. v. 17.II.93“Forte tamen ea, quæ tintinnabulis haud videntur dissimilia, nummulariorum loculos et pecuniæ receptacula referunt.”—Schelhorn, Amœnit. Liter. tom. i. p. 10.II.94The following are the contents of the first page, descriptive of the cut: “Evangelium Johannis habet viginti unum capittula. Primum. In principio erat verbum de eternitate verbi et de trinitate. Secundum capittulum. Nupcie facte sunt in Chana Galilee et qualiter Christus subvertit mensas nummulariorum. Tertium capittulum. Erat antem homo ex Phariseis Nycodemus nomine. Quartum capittulum. Qualiter Ihesus peciit a muliere Samaritana bibere circum puteum Jacob et de regulo. Quintum capittulum. De probatica piscina ubi dixit Ihesus infirmo Tolle grabatum tuum & vade. Sextum capittulum. De refectione ex quinque panibus & duobus piscibus Et de ewkaristia.”—Schelhorn, Amœnit. Lit. tom. i. p. 9.II.95This work on Palmistry was composed in German by a Doctor Hartlieb, as is expressed at the beginning: “Das nachgeschriben buch von der hand hätt zu teutsch gemacht Doctor Hartlieb.” Specimens of the first and the last pages, and of one of the cuts, are given in Heineken’s Idée Générale, plates 27 and 28.II.96I am of opinion that this is the same person who executed the cuts for a German edition of the Poor Preachers’ Bible in 1475. His name does not appear; but on a shield of arms there is a spur, which may be intended as a rebus of the name; in the same manner as Albert Durer’s surname appears in his coat of arms, a pair of doors,—Durer, or, as his father’s name was sometimes spelled,Thurer.II.97Aretin says that in the Royal Library at Munich there are about forty books and about a hundred single leaves printed from engraved wood-blocks.—Über die Folgen, &c. S. 6.II.98Meerman had an old block of a Donatus, which was obtained from the collection of a M. Hubert of Basle, and which appeared to belong to the same edition as that containing sixteen lines in the Royal Library at Paris.—Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 258.
II.1A stencil is a piece of pasteboard, or a thin plate of metal, pierced with lines and figures, which are communicated to paper, parchment, or linen, by passing a brush charged with ink or colour over the stencil.II.2Cards—Carten—are mentioned in a book of bye-laws of Nuremberg, between 1380 and 1384. They are included in a list of games at which the burghers might indulge themselves, provided they ventured only small sums. “Awzgenommen rennen mit Pferder, Schiessen mit Armbrusten,Carten, Schofzagel, Pretspil, und Kugeln, umb einen pfenink zwen zu vier poten.” That is:“alwaysexcepting horse-racing, shooting with cross-bows,cards, shovel-board, tric-trac, and bowls, at which a man may bet from twopence to a groat.”—C. G. Von Murr, Journal zur Kunstsgesch. 2 Theil, S. 99.II.3In the town-books of Nuremberg a HansFormansneideroccurs so early as 1397, which De Murr says is not meant for “wood engraver,” but is to be read thus:Hans Forman, Schneider; that is, “Ihon Forman, maister-fashionere,” or, in modern phrase, “tailor.” The word “Karter” also occurs in the same year, but it is meant for a carder, or wool-comber, and not for a card-maker.—C. G. Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 99.II.4“Conscioscia che l’arte e mestier delle carte & figure stampide, che se fano in Venesia è vegnudo a total deffaction, e questo sia per la gran quantità de carte a zugar, e fegure depente stampide, le qual vien fate de fuora de Venezia.” The curious document in which the above passage occurs was discovered by Temanza, an Italian architect, in an old book of rules and orders belonging to the company of Venetian painters. His discovery, communicated in a letter to Count Algarotti, appeared in the Lettere Pittoriche, tom. v. p. 320, et sequent. and has since been quoted by every writer who has written upon the subject.II.5This celebrated version, in the Mœso-Gothic language, is preserved in the library of Upsal in Sweden.II.6Osservazioni sulla Chirotipografia, ossia Antica Arte di Stampare a mano. Opera di D. Vincenzo Requeno. Roma 1810, 8vo.II.7Fuseli, at p. 85 of Ottley’s Inquiry; and Breitkopf, Versuch d. Ursprungs der SpielkartenZu erforschen, 2 Theil, S. 175.II.8Fournier, Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progrès de l’Art de Graver en Bois, p. 79; and Papillon, Traité de la Gravure en Bois, tom. i. p. 20, and Supplement, p. 80.II.9“Liber iste,Laus Virginisintitulatus, continet Lectiones Matutinales accommodatas Officio B. V. Mariæ per singulos anni dies,” &c. At the beginning of the volume is the following memorandum: “Istum librum legavit domna Anna filia domni Stephani baronis de Gundelfingen, canonica in Büchow Aule bte. Marie v’ginis in Buchshaim ord’is Cartusieñ prope Memingen Augusten. dyoc.”—Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 104-105.II.10A fac-simile, of the size of the original, is given in Von Murr’s Journal, vol. ii. p. 104, and in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. i. p. 90, both engraved on wood. There is an imitation engraved on copper, in Jansen’s Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, tom. i.II.11The following announcement appears in the colophon of the Nuremberg Chronicle. “Ad intuitum autem et preces providorum civium Sebaldi Schreyer et Sebastiani Romermaister hunc librum Anthonius Koberger Nurembergiæ impressit. Adhibitis tamen viris mathematicis pingendique arte peritissimis, Michaele Wolgemut et Wilhelmo Pleydenwurff, quorum solerti accuratissimaque animadversione tum civitatum tum illustrium virorum figuræ insertæ sunt. Consummatum autem duodecima mensis Julii. Anno Salutis ñre 1493.”II.12As great a neglect of the rules of perspective may be seen in several of the cuts in the famed edition of Theurdanck, Nuremberg, 1517, which are supposed to have been designed by Hans Burgmair, and engraved by Hans Schaufflein.II.13See Brand’s Popular Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 359-364.—Bohn’s edition.II.14Bibliographical and Picturesque Tour, by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin, D.D. p. 58, vol. ii. second edition, 1829. The De Murr to whom Dr. Dibdin alludes, is C. G. Von Murr, editor of the Journal of Arts and General Literature, published at Nuremberg in 1775 and subsequent years. Von Murr was the first who published, in the second volume of his journal, afac-simile, engraved on wood by Sebast. Roland, of the Buxheim St. Christopher, from a tracing sent to him by P. Krismer, the librarian of the convent. Von Murr, in his Memorabilia of the City of Nuremberg, mentions that Breitkopf had seen a duplicate impression of the Buxheim St. Christopher in the possession of M. De Birkenstock at Vienna.II.15There is every reason in the world to suppose that this wood-cut was executed either in Nuremberg or Augsburg. Buxheim is situated almost in the very heart of Suabia, the circle in which we find the earliest wood engravers established. Buxheim is about thirty English miles from Ulm, forty-four from Augsburg, and one hundred and fifteen from Nuremberg. Von Murr does not notice the pretensions of Ulm, which on his own grounds are stronger than those of his native city, Nuremberg.II.16Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 105, 106.II.17St. Bridget was a favourite saint in Germany, where many religious establishments of the rule of St. Saviour, introduced by her, were founded. A folio volume, containing the life, revelations, and legends of St. Bridget, was published by A. Koberger, Nuremberg, 1502, with the following title: “Das puch der Himlischen offenbarung der Heiligen wittiben Birgitte von dem Kunigreich Schweden.”II.18Those cuts consist of illustrations of the New Testament. There are ten of them, apparently a portion of a larger series, in the British Museum; and they are marked in small letters, a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. k. n. That which is marked g. also contains the words “Opus Jacobi.” In this cut a specimen of cross-hatching may be observed, which was certainly very little practised—if at all—in Italy, before 1500.II.19Mr. Ottley’s reason for considering this cut to be so old is, that “after that period [1400] an artist, who was capable of designing so good a figure, could scarcely have been so grossly ignorant of every effect of linear perspective, as was evidently the case with the author of the performance before us.”—Inquiry, p. 87. Offences, however, scarcely less gross against the rules of linear perspective, are to be found in the wood-cuts in the Adventures of Sir Theurdank, 1517, many of which contain figures superior to that of St. Bridget. Errors in perspective are indeed frequent in the designs of many of the most eminent of Albert Durer’s contemporaries, although in other respects the figures may be correctly drawn, and the general composition good.II.20An engraving of this seal is given in the first volume of Meerman’s Origines Typographicæ.II.21Heineken, Neue Nachrichten von Künstlern und Kunstsachen. Dresden und Leipzig, 1786, S. 143.II.22In the Table des Matières to Jansen’s Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, Paris, 1808, we find “Dünkelspül (Nicolas) graveur Allemand en 1443.” After this specimen of accuracy, it is rather surprising that we do not find St. Alexius referred to also as “un graveur Allemand.”II.23St. Alexius returning unknown to his father’s house, as a poor pilgrim, was treated with great indignity by the servants.II.24Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 113-115.II.25Jansen, Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, tom. i. p. 237. Jansen’s own authority on subjects connected with wood engraving is undeserving of attention. He is a mere compiler, who scarcely appears to have been able to distinguish a wood-cut from a copper-plate engraving.II.26Idée Générale, p. 251. Hartman Schedel, the compiler of the Nuremberg Chronicle, was accustomed to paste both old wood-cuts and copper-plate engravings within the covers of his books, many of which were preserved in the Library of the Elector of Bavaria at Munich.—Idée Gén. p. 287; and Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 115.II.27Heineken thus speaks of those old devotional cuts: “On trouve dans la Bibliothèque de Wolfenbüttel de ces sortes d’estampes, qui représentent différens sujets de l’histoire sainte et de dévotion, avec du texte vis à vis de la figure, tout gravé en bois. Ces pièces sont de la même grandeur que nos cartes à jouer: elles portent 3 pouces de hauteur sur 2 pouces 6 lignes de largeur.”—Idée Générale, p. 249.II.28A copy of the Speculum belonging to the city of Harlem had at the commencement, “Ex Officina Laurentii Joannis Costeri. Anno 1440.” But this inscription had been inserted by a modern hand—Idée Générale, p. 449.II.29In the catalogue of Dr. Kloss’s Library, No. 2024, is a “Historia et Apocalypsis Johannis Evangelistæ,” imperfect, printed from wooden blocks. The following are the observations of the editor or compiler of the catalogue: “At the end of the volume is a short note, written by Pope Martin V., who occupied the papal chair from 1417 to 1431. This appears to accord with the edition described by Heineken at page 360, excepting in the doublea, No. 3 and 4.” If the note referred to were genuine, and actually written in the book, a certain date would be at once established. The information, however, comes in a questionable shape, as the Englishrédacteur’spower of ascertaining who were the writers of ancient MS. notes appears little short of miraculous.II.30Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 4, cited in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. i. p. 99.II.31Singer’s Researches into the History of Playing-cards, p. 107.II.32Index Librorum ab inventa Typographia ad annum 1500, No. 37.II.33Mr. Bohn is in possession of a similarly bound volume, namely, “Astexani de Ast, Scrutinium Scripturarum,” printed by Mentelin, without date, but about 1468, on the pig-skin covers of which is printed in bold black letter,Per me Rich-en-bach illigatus in Gysslingen 1470.II.34“Catalogue of the Library of Dr. Kloss of Frankfort,” Nos. 460 and 468. Geisslingen is about fifteen miles north-west of Ulm in Suabia, and Gemund about twelve miles northward of Geisslingen.II.35Mr. Singer, at page 101 of his Researches into the History of Playing-cards, speaks of “onePlebanus of Augsburg,” as if Plebanus were a proper name. It has nearly the same meaning as our own word “Curate.” “Plebanus, Parœcus, Curio, Sacerdos, quiplebipræest; Italis,Piovano; Gallo-Belgis,Pleban. Balbus in Catholico: ‘Plebanus, dominus plebis, Presbyter, qui plebem regit.’—Plebanum vero maxime vocant in ecclesiis cathedralibus seu collegiatis canonicum, cui plebis earum jurisdictioni subditæ cura committitur.”—Du Cange, Glossarium, in verbo “Plebanus.”II.36Idée Générale, pp. 334-370.II.37In the copy of the Biblia Pauperum in the British Museum,Inches.Inches.The largest cut is10-4/8 high, and7-5/8 wide.The smallest —10-1/8 — —7-5/8 —In the Historia Virginis, also in the British Museum,The largest cut is10-3/8 high, and7-2/8 wide.The smallest —9-7/8 — —6-7/8 —II.38The two which are wanting are those numbered 36 and 37—that is, the seconds, and the firstt—in Heineken’s collation. Although there is a memorandum at the commencement of the book that those cuts are wanting, yet the person who has put in the numbers, in manuscript, at the foot of each, has not noticed the omission, but has continued the numbers consecutively, marking that 36 which in a perfect copy is 38, and so on to the rest. A reference to Heineken from those manuscript numbers subsequent to the thirty-fifth cut would lead to error.II.39Witness Rembrandt, who never gets rid of the Dutch character, no matter how elevated his subject may be.II.40Revelations, chap. xi. verses 3d and 4th.II.41Idée Générale, p. 376.II.42Inquiry, vol. i. p. 140.II.43Inquiry, p. 140.II.44Inquiry, p. 144, vol. i.II.45The copy from which the preceding specimens are given was formerly the property of the Rev. C. M. Cracherode, by whom it was left, with the rest of his valuable collection of books, to the British Museum.II.46Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 36. Mr. Ottley cites the passage at p. 139, vol i. of his Inquiry, for the purpose of expressing his dissent from the theory.II.47Landseer’s Lectures on the Art of Engraving, pp. 201-205, 8vo. London, 1807.II.48Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 374. Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 43.II.49Song of Solomon, chap. iv. verse 4.II.50Those arms are to be seen in Sebastiana Munsteri Cosmographia, cap. De Regione Wirtenbergensi, p. 592. Folio, Basiliæ, apud Henrichum Petri, 1554.II.51The backs of many of the old wood-cuts which have been taken by means of friction, still appear bright in consequence of the rubbing which the paper has sustained in order to obtain the impression. They would not have this appearance if the paper had been used in a damp state.II.52This must have been a copy of that which Heineken calls the second edition; no such appearances of a fracture or joining are to be seen in the first.II.53Inquiry, p. 142.II.54“It is a manual or kind of Catechism of the Bible,” says the Rev. T. H. Horne, “for the use of young persons and of the common people, whence it derives its nameBiblia Pauperum,—the Bible of the Poor,—who were thus enabled to acquire, at a comparatively low price, an imperfect knowledge of some of the events recorded in the Scripture.”—Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures, vol. ii. p. 224-5. The young and the poor must have been comparatively learned at that period to be able to read cramped Latin, when many a priest could scarcely spell his breviary.II.55J. G. Schelhorn, Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. iv. p. 297. 8vo. Francofurt. & Lips. 1730. Lichtenberger, Initia Typographica, p. 4, says erroneously, that Schelhorn’s fac-simile was engraved on copper. It is on wood, as Schelhorn himself states at p. 296.II.56J. D. Schœpflin, Vindiciæ Typographicæ, p. 7, 4to. Argentorati, 1760.II.57Ger. Meerman, Origines Typographicæ, P. 1, p. 241. 4to. Hagæ Comit. 1765.II.58Idée Générale, p. 292, note.II.59Camus, speaking of one of those manuscripts compared with the block-book, observes: “Ce dernier abrégé méritoit bien le nom deBiblia Pauperum, par comparison aux tableaux complets de la Bible que je viens d’indiquer. Des ouvrages tels que les tableaux complets ne pouvoient être queBiblia Divitum.”—Notice d’un Livre imprimé à Bamberg en 1462, p. 12, note. 4to. Paris, 1800.II.60“Entre ces abrégés [de la Bible] on remarque leSpeculum Humanæ Salvationiset leBiblia Pauperum. Ces deux ouvrages ont beaucoup d’affinité entre eux pour le volume, le choix des histoires, les moralités, la composition des tableaux. Ils existent en manuscrits dans plusieurs bibliothèques.”—Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 12.II.61“Librorum qui ante Reformationem in scholis Daniæ legebantur, Notitia. Hafniæ, 1784;” referred to by Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 10.II.62Inquiry, vol. i. p. 129.II.63Idée Générale, p. 307, 308.II.64The passages referred to are probably the 8th, 9th, and 10th verses of the xxxivth Psalm; and the 8th verse of the xxixth chapter of Isaiah.II.65“Has autem icones ex sola sculptoris imaginatione et arbitrio fluxisse vel inde liquet, quod idem scriptor sacer in diversis foliis diversa plerumque et alia facie delineatus sistatur, sicuti, v. g. Esaias ac David, sæpius obvii, Protei instar, varias induerunt in hoc opere formas.”—Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. iv. p. 297.II.66Schelhorn has noticed a similar appearance in the old block-book entitled “Ars Memorandi:” “Videas hic nonnunquam literas atramento confluenti deformatas, ventremque illarum, alias album et vacuum, atramentaria macula repletum.” Amœnitat. Liter. tom. i. p. 7.II.67This collection of wood engravings from old blocks was published in three parts, large folio, at Gotha in 1808, 1810, and 1816, under the following title: “Holzschnitte alter Deutscher Meister in den Original-Platten gesammelt von Hans Albrecht Von Derschau: Als ein Beytrag zur Kunstgeschichte herausgegeben, und mit einer Abhandlung über die Holzschneidekunst und deren Schicksale begleitet von Rudolph Zacharias Becker.” The collector has frequently mistaken rudeness of design, and coarseness of execution, for proofs of antiquity.II.68Inquiry, vol. i. p. 130.II.69Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 11.II.70Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 319.II.71Ornhielm’s book was printed in 4to. at Stockholm, 1689. The passage referred to is as follows: “Quosper numeros et signaconscripsisse cum [Ansgarium] libros Rembertus memorat indigitatospigmentorumvocabulo, eos continuisse, palam est, quasdam aut e divinarum literarum, aut pie doctorum patrum scriptis, pericopas et sententias.”II.72“Ces conjectures sont foibles; elles ont été attaquées par Erasme Nyerup dans un écrit publié à Copenhague en 1784. . . . . Nyerup donne à penser que Heinecke a reconnu lui-même, dans la suite, la foiblesse de ses conjectures.”—Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 9.II.73It is sometimes named “Speculum Figuratum;” and Junius in his account of Coster’s invention calls it “Speculum Nostræ Salutis.”II.74The cuts which have the text printed from wood-blocks are Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 26, 27, 46, and 55.—Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 444.II.75Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 474.II.76The “Batavia” or Junius, in which the name of Lawrence Coster first appears as a printer, was published in 1588.II.77Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progrès de l’Art de Graver en Bois. Par M. Fournier le Jeune, 8vo. Paris, 1758.II.78A French translation of Meerman’s letter, which was originally written in Dutch, is given by Santander in his Dictionnaire Bibliographique, tom. i. pp. 14-18, 8vo. Bruxelles, 1805.II.79Dissertation, pp. 29-32. The many mistakes which Fournier commits in his Dissertation, excite a suspicion that he was either superficially acquainted with his subject, or extremely careless. He published two or three other small works on the subject of engraving and printing,—after the manner of “Supplements to an Appendix,”—the principal of which is entitled “De l’Origine et des Productions de l’Imprimerie primitive en taille de bois; avec une refutation des préjugés plus ou moins accredités sur cet art; pour servir de suite à la Dissertation sur l’Origine de l’Art de graver en bois. Paris, 1759.”II.80Heineken seems inclined to consider this as the second Dutch edition; and he only mentions it as the first Dutch edition because it is called so by Meerman.—Idée Gén. pp. 453, 454.II.81Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of Engraving, pp. 205-217. Though differing from Mr. Ottley in the conclusions which he draws from the facts elicited by him respecting the priority of the editions of the Speculum, I bear a willing testimony to the value of his discoveries on this subject, which may rank among the most interesting that have resulted from bibliographical research.II.82Wood-engravers of the present day are accustomed to transfer an old impression from a cut or a page of letter-press to a block in the following manner. They first moisten the back of the paper on which the cut or letter-press is printed with a mixture of concentrated potash and essence of lavender in equal quantities, which causes the ink to separate readily from the paper; next, when the paper is nearly dry, the cut or page is placed above a prepared block, and by moderate pressure the ink comes off from the paper, and leaves an impression upon the wood.II.83The subject is Daniel explaining to Belshazzar the writing on the wall.II.84Heineken gives an account of those twelve additional cuts at page 463 of his Idée Générale. It appears that Veldener also published in the same year another edition of the Speculum, also in quarto, containing the same cuts as the older folios, but without the twelve above mentioned.II.85see textThe following is a reduced copy of the paper-mark, which appears to be a kind of anchor with a small cross springing from a ball or knob at the junction of the arms with the shank. It bears a considerable degree of resemblance to the mark given atpage 62, from an edition of the Apocalypse. An anchor is to be found as a paper-mark in editions of the Apocalypse, and of the Poor Preachers’ Bible. According to Santander, a similar paper-mark is to be found in books printed at Cologne, Louvain, and Utrecht, from about 1470 to 1480.II.86The initial F, at the commencement of this chapter, is a reduced copy of the letter here described.II.87The first book with moveable types and wood-cuts both printed by means of the press is the Fables printed at Bamberg, by Albert Pfister, “Am Sant Valentinus tag,” 1461.II.88“Nostrum vero libellum, cujus gratia hæc præfati sumus, intrepide, si non primum artis inventæ fœtum, certe inter primos fuisse asseveramus.”—Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. i. p. 4.II.89Heineken had seen two editions of this book, and he gives fac-similes of their titles, which are evidently from different blocks. The title at full length is as follows:“Arsmemorandi notabilis per figuras Ewangelistarum hic ex post descriptam quam diligens lector diligenter legat et practiset per signa localia ut in practica experitur.”—“En horridum et incomtum dicendi genus, Priscianumque misere vapulantem!” exclaims Schelhorn.II.90Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 394.II.91Über die frühesten universal historischen Folgen der Erfindung der Buchdruckerkunst, von J. Christ. Freyherrn Von Aretin, S. 18. 4to. Munich, 1808.II.92“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”—St. John’s Gospel, chap. i. v. 17.II.93“Forte tamen ea, quæ tintinnabulis haud videntur dissimilia, nummulariorum loculos et pecuniæ receptacula referunt.”—Schelhorn, Amœnit. Liter. tom. i. p. 10.II.94The following are the contents of the first page, descriptive of the cut: “Evangelium Johannis habet viginti unum capittula. Primum. In principio erat verbum de eternitate verbi et de trinitate. Secundum capittulum. Nupcie facte sunt in Chana Galilee et qualiter Christus subvertit mensas nummulariorum. Tertium capittulum. Erat antem homo ex Phariseis Nycodemus nomine. Quartum capittulum. Qualiter Ihesus peciit a muliere Samaritana bibere circum puteum Jacob et de regulo. Quintum capittulum. De probatica piscina ubi dixit Ihesus infirmo Tolle grabatum tuum & vade. Sextum capittulum. De refectione ex quinque panibus & duobus piscibus Et de ewkaristia.”—Schelhorn, Amœnit. Lit. tom. i. p. 9.II.95This work on Palmistry was composed in German by a Doctor Hartlieb, as is expressed at the beginning: “Das nachgeschriben buch von der hand hätt zu teutsch gemacht Doctor Hartlieb.” Specimens of the first and the last pages, and of one of the cuts, are given in Heineken’s Idée Générale, plates 27 and 28.II.96I am of opinion that this is the same person who executed the cuts for a German edition of the Poor Preachers’ Bible in 1475. His name does not appear; but on a shield of arms there is a spur, which may be intended as a rebus of the name; in the same manner as Albert Durer’s surname appears in his coat of arms, a pair of doors,—Durer, or, as his father’s name was sometimes spelled,Thurer.II.97Aretin says that in the Royal Library at Munich there are about forty books and about a hundred single leaves printed from engraved wood-blocks.—Über die Folgen, &c. S. 6.II.98Meerman had an old block of a Donatus, which was obtained from the collection of a M. Hubert of Basle, and which appeared to belong to the same edition as that containing sixteen lines in the Royal Library at Paris.—Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 258.
II.1A stencil is a piece of pasteboard, or a thin plate of metal, pierced with lines and figures, which are communicated to paper, parchment, or linen, by passing a brush charged with ink or colour over the stencil.
II.2Cards—Carten—are mentioned in a book of bye-laws of Nuremberg, between 1380 and 1384. They are included in a list of games at which the burghers might indulge themselves, provided they ventured only small sums. “Awzgenommen rennen mit Pferder, Schiessen mit Armbrusten,Carten, Schofzagel, Pretspil, und Kugeln, umb einen pfenink zwen zu vier poten.” That is:“alwaysexcepting horse-racing, shooting with cross-bows,cards, shovel-board, tric-trac, and bowls, at which a man may bet from twopence to a groat.”—C. G. Von Murr, Journal zur Kunstsgesch. 2 Theil, S. 99.
II.3In the town-books of Nuremberg a HansFormansneideroccurs so early as 1397, which De Murr says is not meant for “wood engraver,” but is to be read thus:Hans Forman, Schneider; that is, “Ihon Forman, maister-fashionere,” or, in modern phrase, “tailor.” The word “Karter” also occurs in the same year, but it is meant for a carder, or wool-comber, and not for a card-maker.—C. G. Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 99.
II.4“Conscioscia che l’arte e mestier delle carte & figure stampide, che se fano in Venesia è vegnudo a total deffaction, e questo sia per la gran quantità de carte a zugar, e fegure depente stampide, le qual vien fate de fuora de Venezia.” The curious document in which the above passage occurs was discovered by Temanza, an Italian architect, in an old book of rules and orders belonging to the company of Venetian painters. His discovery, communicated in a letter to Count Algarotti, appeared in the Lettere Pittoriche, tom. v. p. 320, et sequent. and has since been quoted by every writer who has written upon the subject.
II.5This celebrated version, in the Mœso-Gothic language, is preserved in the library of Upsal in Sweden.
II.6Osservazioni sulla Chirotipografia, ossia Antica Arte di Stampare a mano. Opera di D. Vincenzo Requeno. Roma 1810, 8vo.
II.7Fuseli, at p. 85 of Ottley’s Inquiry; and Breitkopf, Versuch d. Ursprungs der SpielkartenZu erforschen, 2 Theil, S. 175.
II.8Fournier, Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progrès de l’Art de Graver en Bois, p. 79; and Papillon, Traité de la Gravure en Bois, tom. i. p. 20, and Supplement, p. 80.
II.9“Liber iste,Laus Virginisintitulatus, continet Lectiones Matutinales accommodatas Officio B. V. Mariæ per singulos anni dies,” &c. At the beginning of the volume is the following memorandum: “Istum librum legavit domna Anna filia domni Stephani baronis de Gundelfingen, canonica in Büchow Aule bte. Marie v’ginis in Buchshaim ord’is Cartusieñ prope Memingen Augusten. dyoc.”—Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 104-105.
II.10A fac-simile, of the size of the original, is given in Von Murr’s Journal, vol. ii. p. 104, and in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. i. p. 90, both engraved on wood. There is an imitation engraved on copper, in Jansen’s Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, tom. i.
II.11The following announcement appears in the colophon of the Nuremberg Chronicle. “Ad intuitum autem et preces providorum civium Sebaldi Schreyer et Sebastiani Romermaister hunc librum Anthonius Koberger Nurembergiæ impressit. Adhibitis tamen viris mathematicis pingendique arte peritissimis, Michaele Wolgemut et Wilhelmo Pleydenwurff, quorum solerti accuratissimaque animadversione tum civitatum tum illustrium virorum figuræ insertæ sunt. Consummatum autem duodecima mensis Julii. Anno Salutis ñre 1493.”
II.12As great a neglect of the rules of perspective may be seen in several of the cuts in the famed edition of Theurdanck, Nuremberg, 1517, which are supposed to have been designed by Hans Burgmair, and engraved by Hans Schaufflein.
II.13See Brand’s Popular Antiquities, vol. i. pp. 359-364.—Bohn’s edition.
II.14Bibliographical and Picturesque Tour, by the Rev. T. F. Dibdin, D.D. p. 58, vol. ii. second edition, 1829. The De Murr to whom Dr. Dibdin alludes, is C. G. Von Murr, editor of the Journal of Arts and General Literature, published at Nuremberg in 1775 and subsequent years. Von Murr was the first who published, in the second volume of his journal, afac-simile, engraved on wood by Sebast. Roland, of the Buxheim St. Christopher, from a tracing sent to him by P. Krismer, the librarian of the convent. Von Murr, in his Memorabilia of the City of Nuremberg, mentions that Breitkopf had seen a duplicate impression of the Buxheim St. Christopher in the possession of M. De Birkenstock at Vienna.
II.15There is every reason in the world to suppose that this wood-cut was executed either in Nuremberg or Augsburg. Buxheim is situated almost in the very heart of Suabia, the circle in which we find the earliest wood engravers established. Buxheim is about thirty English miles from Ulm, forty-four from Augsburg, and one hundred and fifteen from Nuremberg. Von Murr does not notice the pretensions of Ulm, which on his own grounds are stronger than those of his native city, Nuremberg.
II.16Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 105, 106.
II.17St. Bridget was a favourite saint in Germany, where many religious establishments of the rule of St. Saviour, introduced by her, were founded. A folio volume, containing the life, revelations, and legends of St. Bridget, was published by A. Koberger, Nuremberg, 1502, with the following title: “Das puch der Himlischen offenbarung der Heiligen wittiben Birgitte von dem Kunigreich Schweden.”
II.18Those cuts consist of illustrations of the New Testament. There are ten of them, apparently a portion of a larger series, in the British Museum; and they are marked in small letters, a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. k. n. That which is marked g. also contains the words “Opus Jacobi.” In this cut a specimen of cross-hatching may be observed, which was certainly very little practised—if at all—in Italy, before 1500.
II.19Mr. Ottley’s reason for considering this cut to be so old is, that “after that period [1400] an artist, who was capable of designing so good a figure, could scarcely have been so grossly ignorant of every effect of linear perspective, as was evidently the case with the author of the performance before us.”—Inquiry, p. 87. Offences, however, scarcely less gross against the rules of linear perspective, are to be found in the wood-cuts in the Adventures of Sir Theurdank, 1517, many of which contain figures superior to that of St. Bridget. Errors in perspective are indeed frequent in the designs of many of the most eminent of Albert Durer’s contemporaries, although in other respects the figures may be correctly drawn, and the general composition good.
II.20An engraving of this seal is given in the first volume of Meerman’s Origines Typographicæ.
II.21Heineken, Neue Nachrichten von Künstlern und Kunstsachen. Dresden und Leipzig, 1786, S. 143.
II.22In the Table des Matières to Jansen’s Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, Paris, 1808, we find “Dünkelspül (Nicolas) graveur Allemand en 1443.” After this specimen of accuracy, it is rather surprising that we do not find St. Alexius referred to also as “un graveur Allemand.”
II.23St. Alexius returning unknown to his father’s house, as a poor pilgrim, was treated with great indignity by the servants.
II.24Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 113-115.
II.25Jansen, Essai sur l’Origine de la Gravure, tom. i. p. 237. Jansen’s own authority on subjects connected with wood engraving is undeserving of attention. He is a mere compiler, who scarcely appears to have been able to distinguish a wood-cut from a copper-plate engraving.
II.26Idée Générale, p. 251. Hartman Schedel, the compiler of the Nuremberg Chronicle, was accustomed to paste both old wood-cuts and copper-plate engravings within the covers of his books, many of which were preserved in the Library of the Elector of Bavaria at Munich.—Idée Gén. p. 287; and Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 115.
II.27Heineken thus speaks of those old devotional cuts: “On trouve dans la Bibliothèque de Wolfenbüttel de ces sortes d’estampes, qui représentent différens sujets de l’histoire sainte et de dévotion, avec du texte vis à vis de la figure, tout gravé en bois. Ces pièces sont de la même grandeur que nos cartes à jouer: elles portent 3 pouces de hauteur sur 2 pouces 6 lignes de largeur.”—Idée Générale, p. 249.
II.28A copy of the Speculum belonging to the city of Harlem had at the commencement, “Ex Officina Laurentii Joannis Costeri. Anno 1440.” But this inscription had been inserted by a modern hand—Idée Générale, p. 449.
II.29In the catalogue of Dr. Kloss’s Library, No. 2024, is a “Historia et Apocalypsis Johannis Evangelistæ,” imperfect, printed from wooden blocks. The following are the observations of the editor or compiler of the catalogue: “At the end of the volume is a short note, written by Pope Martin V., who occupied the papal chair from 1417 to 1431. This appears to accord with the edition described by Heineken at page 360, excepting in the doublea, No. 3 and 4.” If the note referred to were genuine, and actually written in the book, a certain date would be at once established. The information, however, comes in a questionable shape, as the Englishrédacteur’spower of ascertaining who were the writers of ancient MS. notes appears little short of miraculous.
II.30Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 4, cited in Ottley’s Inquiry, vol. i. p. 99.
II.31Singer’s Researches into the History of Playing-cards, p. 107.
II.32Index Librorum ab inventa Typographia ad annum 1500, No. 37.
II.33Mr. Bohn is in possession of a similarly bound volume, namely, “Astexani de Ast, Scrutinium Scripturarum,” printed by Mentelin, without date, but about 1468, on the pig-skin covers of which is printed in bold black letter,Per me Rich-en-bach illigatus in Gysslingen 1470.
II.34“Catalogue of the Library of Dr. Kloss of Frankfort,” Nos. 460 and 468. Geisslingen is about fifteen miles north-west of Ulm in Suabia, and Gemund about twelve miles northward of Geisslingen.
II.35Mr. Singer, at page 101 of his Researches into the History of Playing-cards, speaks of “onePlebanus of Augsburg,” as if Plebanus were a proper name. It has nearly the same meaning as our own word “Curate.” “Plebanus, Parœcus, Curio, Sacerdos, quiplebipræest; Italis,Piovano; Gallo-Belgis,Pleban. Balbus in Catholico: ‘Plebanus, dominus plebis, Presbyter, qui plebem regit.’—Plebanum vero maxime vocant in ecclesiis cathedralibus seu collegiatis canonicum, cui plebis earum jurisdictioni subditæ cura committitur.”—Du Cange, Glossarium, in verbo “Plebanus.”
II.36Idée Générale, pp. 334-370.
II.37In the copy of the Biblia Pauperum in the British Museum,
In the Historia Virginis, also in the British Museum,
II.38The two which are wanting are those numbered 36 and 37—that is, the seconds, and the firstt—in Heineken’s collation. Although there is a memorandum at the commencement of the book that those cuts are wanting, yet the person who has put in the numbers, in manuscript, at the foot of each, has not noticed the omission, but has continued the numbers consecutively, marking that 36 which in a perfect copy is 38, and so on to the rest. A reference to Heineken from those manuscript numbers subsequent to the thirty-fifth cut would lead to error.
II.39Witness Rembrandt, who never gets rid of the Dutch character, no matter how elevated his subject may be.
II.40Revelations, chap. xi. verses 3d and 4th.
II.41Idée Générale, p. 376.
II.42Inquiry, vol. i. p. 140.
II.43Inquiry, p. 140.
II.44Inquiry, p. 144, vol. i.
II.45The copy from which the preceding specimens are given was formerly the property of the Rev. C. M. Cracherode, by whom it was left, with the rest of his valuable collection of books, to the British Museum.
II.46Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 36. Mr. Ottley cites the passage at p. 139, vol i. of his Inquiry, for the purpose of expressing his dissent from the theory.
II.47Landseer’s Lectures on the Art of Engraving, pp. 201-205, 8vo. London, 1807.
II.48Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 374. Von Murr, Journal, 2 Theil, S. 43.
II.49Song of Solomon, chap. iv. verse 4.
II.50Those arms are to be seen in Sebastiana Munsteri Cosmographia, cap. De Regione Wirtenbergensi, p. 592. Folio, Basiliæ, apud Henrichum Petri, 1554.
II.51The backs of many of the old wood-cuts which have been taken by means of friction, still appear bright in consequence of the rubbing which the paper has sustained in order to obtain the impression. They would not have this appearance if the paper had been used in a damp state.
II.52This must have been a copy of that which Heineken calls the second edition; no such appearances of a fracture or joining are to be seen in the first.
II.53Inquiry, p. 142.
II.54“It is a manual or kind of Catechism of the Bible,” says the Rev. T. H. Horne, “for the use of young persons and of the common people, whence it derives its nameBiblia Pauperum,—the Bible of the Poor,—who were thus enabled to acquire, at a comparatively low price, an imperfect knowledge of some of the events recorded in the Scripture.”—Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures, vol. ii. p. 224-5. The young and the poor must have been comparatively learned at that period to be able to read cramped Latin, when many a priest could scarcely spell his breviary.
II.55J. G. Schelhorn, Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. iv. p. 297. 8vo. Francofurt. & Lips. 1730. Lichtenberger, Initia Typographica, p. 4, says erroneously, that Schelhorn’s fac-simile was engraved on copper. It is on wood, as Schelhorn himself states at p. 296.
II.56J. D. Schœpflin, Vindiciæ Typographicæ, p. 7, 4to. Argentorati, 1760.
II.57Ger. Meerman, Origines Typographicæ, P. 1, p. 241. 4to. Hagæ Comit. 1765.
II.58Idée Générale, p. 292, note.
II.59Camus, speaking of one of those manuscripts compared with the block-book, observes: “Ce dernier abrégé méritoit bien le nom deBiblia Pauperum, par comparison aux tableaux complets de la Bible que je viens d’indiquer. Des ouvrages tels que les tableaux complets ne pouvoient être queBiblia Divitum.”—Notice d’un Livre imprimé à Bamberg en 1462, p. 12, note. 4to. Paris, 1800.
II.60“Entre ces abrégés [de la Bible] on remarque leSpeculum Humanæ Salvationiset leBiblia Pauperum. Ces deux ouvrages ont beaucoup d’affinité entre eux pour le volume, le choix des histoires, les moralités, la composition des tableaux. Ils existent en manuscrits dans plusieurs bibliothèques.”—Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 12.
II.61“Librorum qui ante Reformationem in scholis Daniæ legebantur, Notitia. Hafniæ, 1784;” referred to by Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 10.
II.62Inquiry, vol. i. p. 129.
II.63Idée Générale, p. 307, 308.
II.64The passages referred to are probably the 8th, 9th, and 10th verses of the xxxivth Psalm; and the 8th verse of the xxixth chapter of Isaiah.
II.65“Has autem icones ex sola sculptoris imaginatione et arbitrio fluxisse vel inde liquet, quod idem scriptor sacer in diversis foliis diversa plerumque et alia facie delineatus sistatur, sicuti, v. g. Esaias ac David, sæpius obvii, Protei instar, varias induerunt in hoc opere formas.”—Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. iv. p. 297.
II.66Schelhorn has noticed a similar appearance in the old block-book entitled “Ars Memorandi:” “Videas hic nonnunquam literas atramento confluenti deformatas, ventremque illarum, alias album et vacuum, atramentaria macula repletum.” Amœnitat. Liter. tom. i. p. 7.
II.67This collection of wood engravings from old blocks was published in three parts, large folio, at Gotha in 1808, 1810, and 1816, under the following title: “Holzschnitte alter Deutscher Meister in den Original-Platten gesammelt von Hans Albrecht Von Derschau: Als ein Beytrag zur Kunstgeschichte herausgegeben, und mit einer Abhandlung über die Holzschneidekunst und deren Schicksale begleitet von Rudolph Zacharias Becker.” The collector has frequently mistaken rudeness of design, and coarseness of execution, for proofs of antiquity.
II.68Inquiry, vol. i. p. 130.
II.69Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 11.
II.70Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 319.
II.71Ornhielm’s book was printed in 4to. at Stockholm, 1689. The passage referred to is as follows: “Quosper numeros et signaconscripsisse cum [Ansgarium] libros Rembertus memorat indigitatospigmentorumvocabulo, eos continuisse, palam est, quasdam aut e divinarum literarum, aut pie doctorum patrum scriptis, pericopas et sententias.”
II.72“Ces conjectures sont foibles; elles ont été attaquées par Erasme Nyerup dans un écrit publié à Copenhague en 1784. . . . . Nyerup donne à penser que Heinecke a reconnu lui-même, dans la suite, la foiblesse de ses conjectures.”—Camus, Notice d’un Livre, &c. p. 9.
II.73It is sometimes named “Speculum Figuratum;” and Junius in his account of Coster’s invention calls it “Speculum Nostræ Salutis.”
II.74The cuts which have the text printed from wood-blocks are Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 26, 27, 46, and 55.—Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 444.
II.75Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 474.
II.76The “Batavia” or Junius, in which the name of Lawrence Coster first appears as a printer, was published in 1588.
II.77Dissertation sur l’Origine et les Progrès de l’Art de Graver en Bois. Par M. Fournier le Jeune, 8vo. Paris, 1758.
II.78A French translation of Meerman’s letter, which was originally written in Dutch, is given by Santander in his Dictionnaire Bibliographique, tom. i. pp. 14-18, 8vo. Bruxelles, 1805.
II.79Dissertation, pp. 29-32. The many mistakes which Fournier commits in his Dissertation, excite a suspicion that he was either superficially acquainted with his subject, or extremely careless. He published two or three other small works on the subject of engraving and printing,—after the manner of “Supplements to an Appendix,”—the principal of which is entitled “De l’Origine et des Productions de l’Imprimerie primitive en taille de bois; avec une refutation des préjugés plus ou moins accredités sur cet art; pour servir de suite à la Dissertation sur l’Origine de l’Art de graver en bois. Paris, 1759.”
II.80Heineken seems inclined to consider this as the second Dutch edition; and he only mentions it as the first Dutch edition because it is called so by Meerman.—Idée Gén. pp. 453, 454.
II.81Inquiry into the Origin and Early History of Engraving, pp. 205-217. Though differing from Mr. Ottley in the conclusions which he draws from the facts elicited by him respecting the priority of the editions of the Speculum, I bear a willing testimony to the value of his discoveries on this subject, which may rank among the most interesting that have resulted from bibliographical research.
II.82Wood-engravers of the present day are accustomed to transfer an old impression from a cut or a page of letter-press to a block in the following manner. They first moisten the back of the paper on which the cut or letter-press is printed with a mixture of concentrated potash and essence of lavender in equal quantities, which causes the ink to separate readily from the paper; next, when the paper is nearly dry, the cut or page is placed above a prepared block, and by moderate pressure the ink comes off from the paper, and leaves an impression upon the wood.
II.83The subject is Daniel explaining to Belshazzar the writing on the wall.
II.84Heineken gives an account of those twelve additional cuts at page 463 of his Idée Générale. It appears that Veldener also published in the same year another edition of the Speculum, also in quarto, containing the same cuts as the older folios, but without the twelve above mentioned.
II.85see textThe following is a reduced copy of the paper-mark, which appears to be a kind of anchor with a small cross springing from a ball or knob at the junction of the arms with the shank. It bears a considerable degree of resemblance to the mark given atpage 62, from an edition of the Apocalypse. An anchor is to be found as a paper-mark in editions of the Apocalypse, and of the Poor Preachers’ Bible. According to Santander, a similar paper-mark is to be found in books printed at Cologne, Louvain, and Utrecht, from about 1470 to 1480.
II.86The initial F, at the commencement of this chapter, is a reduced copy of the letter here described.
II.87The first book with moveable types and wood-cuts both printed by means of the press is the Fables printed at Bamberg, by Albert Pfister, “Am Sant Valentinus tag,” 1461.
II.88“Nostrum vero libellum, cujus gratia hæc præfati sumus, intrepide, si non primum artis inventæ fœtum, certe inter primos fuisse asseveramus.”—Amœnitates Literariæ, tom. i. p. 4.
II.89Heineken had seen two editions of this book, and he gives fac-similes of their titles, which are evidently from different blocks. The title at full length is as follows:“Arsmemorandi notabilis per figuras Ewangelistarum hic ex post descriptam quam diligens lector diligenter legat et practiset per signa localia ut in practica experitur.”—“En horridum et incomtum dicendi genus, Priscianumque misere vapulantem!” exclaims Schelhorn.
II.90Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 394.
II.91Über die frühesten universal historischen Folgen der Erfindung der Buchdruckerkunst, von J. Christ. Freyherrn Von Aretin, S. 18. 4to. Munich, 1808.
II.92“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”—St. John’s Gospel, chap. i. v. 17.
II.93“Forte tamen ea, quæ tintinnabulis haud videntur dissimilia, nummulariorum loculos et pecuniæ receptacula referunt.”—Schelhorn, Amœnit. Liter. tom. i. p. 10.
II.94The following are the contents of the first page, descriptive of the cut: “Evangelium Johannis habet viginti unum capittula. Primum. In principio erat verbum de eternitate verbi et de trinitate. Secundum capittulum. Nupcie facte sunt in Chana Galilee et qualiter Christus subvertit mensas nummulariorum. Tertium capittulum. Erat antem homo ex Phariseis Nycodemus nomine. Quartum capittulum. Qualiter Ihesus peciit a muliere Samaritana bibere circum puteum Jacob et de regulo. Quintum capittulum. De probatica piscina ubi dixit Ihesus infirmo Tolle grabatum tuum & vade. Sextum capittulum. De refectione ex quinque panibus & duobus piscibus Et de ewkaristia.”—Schelhorn, Amœnit. Lit. tom. i. p. 9.
II.95This work on Palmistry was composed in German by a Doctor Hartlieb, as is expressed at the beginning: “Das nachgeschriben buch von der hand hätt zu teutsch gemacht Doctor Hartlieb.” Specimens of the first and the last pages, and of one of the cuts, are given in Heineken’s Idée Générale, plates 27 and 28.
II.96I am of opinion that this is the same person who executed the cuts for a German edition of the Poor Preachers’ Bible in 1475. His name does not appear; but on a shield of arms there is a spur, which may be intended as a rebus of the name; in the same manner as Albert Durer’s surname appears in his coat of arms, a pair of doors,—Durer, or, as his father’s name was sometimes spelled,Thurer.
II.97Aretin says that in the Royal Library at Munich there are about forty books and about a hundred single leaves printed from engraved wood-blocks.—Über die Folgen, &c. S. 6.
II.98Meerman had an old block of a Donatus, which was obtained from the collection of a M. Hubert of Basle, and which appeared to belong to the same edition as that containing sixteen lines in the Royal Library at Paris.—Heineken, Idée Générale, p. 258.