Pfintzing, Melchoir (ed.); Maximilian I.

Die geuerlicheiten und eins teils der geschichten des loblichen streitbaren und hochberumbten helds und Rotters Twerdannckhs [Theuerdank].

Pfintzing, Melchoir (ed.); Maximilian I. Die geuerlicheiten und eins teils der geschichten des loblichen streitbaren und hochberumbten helds und Rotters Twerdannckhs [Theuerdank]. Augsburg: Johannes Schonsperger, 1519. Second edition (first edition available to the public).

Folio (13” x 8 5/8”, 330mm x 220mm): a⁸(–a8) b⁸(–b1) c⁸ d⁶ e–h⁸ i⁶ k–n⁸ o⁶ p–q⁸ r⁶ s–t⁸ u⁶ x–y⁸ z⁶ A–B⁸ C⁶ D–E⁸ F⁶ G–H⁸ I⁶ K–L⁸ M⁶ N⁸(–N8) O⁶ P⁸(–P5) [$5 signed]. With 116 of 118 fine woodcuts.

Bound in recycled antiphonal vellum, likely late XIXc. All edges of the text-block speckled blue.

Vellum soiled. Title leaf and a2 replaced in manuscript facsimile, offsetting from the title page to the verso of the flyleaf. Lacking leaves a8, b1, N5, and P5 (blank). P4 laid in from another example. Tape repairs to the bottom edge of numerous leaves throughout. Repairs to the lower half of r5, affecting the text on the verso. Cataloging notes in a contemporary hand to the front pastedown and recto of the flyleaf. Hand-coloring (seemingly only in crimson) to the flames, cheeks, and blood depicted in many of the woodcuts, certainly executed by a previous owner as opposed to a production standard. Bookplate of Daniel Henry Holmes and bookplate of John Wesley Warrington to the front pastedown. Leaf of perforated paper with the name of the artist, Hans Schäufelein, written in graphite laid in.

 

Maximilian I was keenly aware of the propagandistic applications of the newly minted printing press in Europe. Maximilian I had been appointed King of the Romans in 1486 and quickly faced class tensions and strife among his subjects. He — allegedly — began drafting the poem after his ascent to the imperial crown in 1508, and the story coincidentally reflected his vassal’s stratum of struggles, positioning the protagonist and titular knight as a man of the people. Rotters Twerdannckhs is a story of aptronyms. Knight Thewrdanck, whose name in German alludes to nobility and determination, sets out to meet his bride, Ernreich (a sound-alike for honorable and a stand-in for Mary of Burgundy), the daughter of King Romreich (glorious). Thewrdanck and his traveling companion Ernhold encounter a multitude of trials on their journeys, most of which are set in motion by Fürwittig, Unfalo, and Neidelhart (arrogance, accident, and envious). The three are captains who fear the dissolution of their army as a result of the knight’s marriage and therefore try to prevent the betrothed from meeting. Thewrdanck inevitably overcomes their foils and all three end up at the executioner's.

The poem itself is in the style of a high medieval epic, with Thewrdanck’s travels recounted in 118 chapters, each prefaced by a woodblock print by Hans Schäufelin, Hans Burgkmair, or Leonhard Beck. It was first published in 1517 in an edition of 340, with 300 printed on paper and 40 deluxe examples on vellum. The second edition was released after Maximilian’s death in 1519 (popular legend has it that Maximilian kept his personal copies of the first edition in a coffin which he carted with him on his travels, only to be removed when his body replaced them). The typography was specially designed for the publication by Vinzenz Rockner, who had modeled it on handwriting used in Maximilian’s chancery. The typeset became synonymous with the epic and was used throughout the XVIc. until Fraktur, a similar style of blackletter, overtook the Theuerdank font. The story permeated European culture so deeply that editions were continuously published until 1693; the present example is part of the Pfintzing group (as opposed to the Waldis or the Schultes groups) which was characterized by Pfintzing’s influential editing, resulting in 10,509 verses in the first, second, and third editions.

Daniel Henry Holmes (1816–1898) was a prominent businessman and founder of the D.H. Holmes department store. The store remained successful long after Holmes’s passing and was acquired in 1989 by Dillards. A collector and patron of Ohio fine art institutions, Holmes’s wife donated many of his pieces to various museums throughout the state.

John Wesley Warrington (1915–1996) was a lawyer and an eclectic collector from Cincinnati. He sat as Chairman of the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts and raised millions on behalf of the Fine Arts Fund and the Taft Museum. His collection was handled by Christie’s New York in both single-owner and multi-owner sales from 1996 through the 2000s. Warrington likely acquired the present volume from Holmes’s estate among others, as multiple works in Christie’s 3 December 2007 sale (in which the present example was lot 323) bear the bookplates of both men.

(Panzer A and B, with b2 and b3 corresponding with Panzer A and the rest corresponding with Panzer B). Brunet V, 787-8; Fairfax Murray German 330 (listing differences between Schönsperger's first three editions).

Cataloged by G.R. Murdock

Item #GRM0102

Price: $27,000