Folger-specific note
From dealer's description: "Shakespeare performed in Nuremberg 1612-1613 A perspective view of the Heilsbrunner Hof, a playhouse used by Shakespearean actors Popular imagery engraved by Paul Fürst (1608-66) Albrecht, Andreas (Nuremberg mathematician & engineer 1586-1628). Zwey Bücher: das erste von der ohne und durch die Arithmetica gefundenen Perspectiva. Das andere von dem darzu gehörigen Schatten. Nuremberg, widow & heirs of Paul Fürst, 1671. 2 parts in 1 volume. Small folio. I: Engraved allegorical title by H[ans] Troschel depicting three muses (geometry, optics & arithmetic) in front of an ornate Renaissance palace symbolizing perspective, 75+[1 blank]p text, [1] double-page engraved plate of fencing tournament, [6] engraved folding plates (with 100 numbered illustrations of optical diagrams), [1] double-page folding table, 5 numbered engraved plates; II: Engraved title within architectural border incorporating scientific instruments and emblems of shaded objects + [2]p of preface to reader + text pp77 - 124 (pp115-116 misbound), [3] folding engraved plates (comprising diagrams numbered 101-139) illustrating principles of shade, [2] folding engraved plates (with XXX diagrams on perspective). Antique style boards. One of the most influential treatises on perspective published in 17th century Germany. The Nuremberg mathematician and engineer Albrecht (1586-1628) interprets the theories of earlier German writers in the light of new mathematical discoveries. His work is divided into general optics and the principle of shade; it was first published in 1623. > The especially remarkable feature of this volume is its striking double-page frontispiece engraved by Paul Fürst representing a Nuremberg fencing tournament at a traditional playhouse venue, a popular image added by the publisher to make the scientific work more appealing to the public. Fürst was one of the most successful German broadsheet publishers using imagery to accompany the printed word to make it more saleable. > The fencing tournament shown is taking place in the courtyard of the Heilsbrunner Hof below Nuremberg Castle, a purpose-built playhouse consisting of two elongated tall inn buildings and an annex with a chapel, constructed at an angle. Martial games are seen in progress watched by large crowds of onlookers both from inside the yard and from the galleries, balconies, windows and rooftops of the surrounding buildings. Originally a Cistercian accounts house, the Heilsbrunner Hof, was rebuilt as a venue for entertainment after the dissolution of the monasteries, and became one of the most popular playhouses in Germany. > 'Englische Komoedianten' (English actors) are recorded to have performed there with great success in 1612 and 1613 : 'On Sunday, 27th June and a few days following thereon, with the gracious permission of the Honourable Council, the Elector of Brandenburg s servants and English comoedians have acted and held beautiful comedies and tragedies of Philole and Mariane, also of Celide and Sedea, also of the destruction of the city of Troy, and city of Constantinople, of the Turk, and other such histories, besides graceful dancing, lovely music, and other entertainments, here in the Heilsbronn Court … ' (J. Chr. Siebenkees: Materialien zur Nürnberger Geschichte. Nuremberg,1792-5, vol.3, pp 52 & 54) & Ernest Brennecke, Shakespeare in Germany 1590-1700 (1964), p.87. The playhouse was demolished in 1784. English wandering players provided the dominant form of theatrical entertainment in Germany during this period. The first German theatre was built at Nuremberg in 1550 (Devrient: Geschichte der deutschen Schauspielkunst (Leipzig 1848). For the artist Hans Troschel (1585-1623), see Thieme Becker XXXIII, 429-30. Five full-page plates include a view of the interior of a hall in a German patrician s house and four illustrations of military interest: the fortifications of the town of Schwenningen in southern Germany, the layout of a gun emplacement with canon being fired protected by stocades, and the respective layouts of the fortresses of Wachtendonk (near the German-Dutch border, the scene of a famous siege in 1588 (dated 1607), and of Uttenheim on the border with France (dated 1618 the fortress was renamed Philippsburg in 1623). Occasional light toning in outer margins, a few small repairs without loss, minor traces of usage, otherwise in good condition. Berlin Katalog 4710; VD17, 12 : 162575Y; Fowler 17 lists a Latin edition of the same year; for the author, see also Thieme-Becker I,231." Ordered from Hünersdorff Rare Books, D9792, 2024-12-20, email quote.
