Ridinger – Rohlfs – Menzler, Hermann.

Drawn from the originals of Joh. Elias Ridinger … (as well as of A. Rohlfs, court hunt painter of prince Frederick Charles of Prussia). 3 pts. + 1 suppl. in 1 vol. Berlin, Ludwig Julius Heymann, Tauben=Straße 25, (1863-1865). Fol. Suite of

77  (of 80)  toned  lithographs

in upright (56) + oblong formats of c. 32.6-36 x 23 and 25-27 x 29-29.5 cm resp., printed by A. Renaud, now and then also by A. Hölzer. Dark green broad h. sheepskin vol. with leather corners,

gilt lining, gilt ruby red back-plate at the spine and, inlaid, frontcover, green Roma-Fabriano laid paper as cover of boards + fly-leaves, gilt reduced Ridinger stag from the Evening (Th. 240) of The Stag’s Times of the Day at the backcover, on its lower interior edge additionally “ridinger handlung niemeyer” in likewise 23.5 cart gilt tooling as well as bound with green 2 ll. title (with princely collection stamp) + announcement for the 1^st issue, here laminated against each other, in uniform h. leather slipcase with the stag on both covers.

Schwarz XIX-XXII (XXII supposedly erroneously “After an orig. drawing” instead of after Thienemann 141). – Not in Schwerdt, Souhart, Nissen + Rümann, as practically not known to literature in general. – Subdivided into three divisions of which one sheet each formed a number, that is:

Reflecting important works of such major suites as the Representation of the Fair Game (16) , the Most Wondrous Stags (26) , the Fair Game hounded by the Hounds (10) , the Study of the Wild Animals , the Princely Hunting Pleasure , the set of the means to catch as well as the Midnight from The Stag’s Times of the Day with nightly green-bluish tone plate, the latter otherwise preponderantly chamois colored, but also i. a. in green. The binding divisionwise according to the respective three division titles with contents shipped after completion of the work though not present here. Only diverging from this by pulling up of I, 2 (The Red Deer) before I, 1 (The Hare) for the optical sake.

Complete  belonging  to  the  greatest  rarities  among  the  Ridingeriana

– so just one complete copy provable here for the postwar decades while a contemporarily bound copy sold here before came to only 75 sheet – also here three sheet are missing, namely II, 15 + 22 as well as III, 6 or 42, 49 + 60, whose later hanging in would be made possible by a prepared fold (for the optical sake for the time being as full white leaf).

the copy, bound together with the extraneous 12-sheet wood engraving suite “From King Frederick’s Age” by Adolf Menzel, counted 73 sheet only, but could be increased by four further ones from the stock here to now 77 sheet. During the re-binding resulting from this, adequate to the elegance of the work already emphasized by the publishers, a new cutting of the inner book was relinquished for bibliophile reason.

Not present here either the general title announced per 1^st issue. It has to be left undecided if this refers to the illustrated one – see its color illustration in the jubilee publication here experience ridinger – 1698-1998 , p. 85 – of far larger paper format as passed through here in company with some further suitingly over-wide-margined sheets with h. cloth portfolio with the designation “Thirteenth Edition” and updated address “Mauer=Straße 26” (at least the posthumous division title II already went per Mauer=Straße 42). Therefore the regular impressions of smaller format with standard-fine margin width, as then also here + now (43 x 34 cm), the previous copy here, and single sheets present here always are the earlier impressions. Quite interesting though the said remarkable number of editions as for once documenting the obviously huge request for the Menzler sheets, on the other side contrasting to their rarity. However it may be then,

contemporary  esteem + subsequent  rarity

– so only 45 years after publication Baron von Gutmann owned just four single sheets (Schwarz, op. cit.), full negative report with Schwerdt (1928/35) with his rich Ridinger part, missing also with Counts Faber-Castell (1958), while count Radulf of Castell-Rüdenhausen (1922-2004) brought together 46 sheet after all during decades of collecting – only testify to the object.

According to the start announcement here bound with outlined as “Complete in 24 numbers” of three sheet each the in such a way intended 72 sheet Ridinger were supplemented by the set of eight of Rohlf’s gallinaceous birds. Prime intent of the publication obviously was to complement

(so already 140 years ago as here already proven so multifariously by means of other old sources) with an alternative sufficient to high demands. By this Menzler for once advanced to one of the master’s big copyists while at the same time the most independent one, too. For thematically the collecting charm of his rendering not least lies in their frequent condensation to the essential. Owed to their lithographic tone print technique, however, the sheets achieve

a  wonderful  warmth  and  quite  particular  pictorial  effect

as achievable with copper engraving only by the aquatint technique not applied by Ridinger anymore. Also for this aspect a Ridingeriana enrichment of degrees then. Here + now then accompanied by – except for a touch of a dog-ear about throughout upper right and a done little injury at the lower white edge of the sheet as well as slight pleat trace in the white margin lower right of sheet 64, the marvelous Pappenheim stag Th. 301 – an

overall  quality  of  absolute  beauty .

Offer no. 14,993  /  price on request

“ I have received the copy of Schoenberg’s Harmonielehre … I am very pleased with it. Thank you very much for your help ”

(Mrs. C. C., March 7, 2003)