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ex-libris THE WORLD OF EX-LIBRIS |
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A historical retrospective 2 EX-LIBRIS FROM THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO DECADENCE 1700 -1860 |
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2a GERMAN EX-LIBRIS 1700 -1800
Whereas in some countries, the 18th century is considered the
Golden Age of ex-libris, this is not the case in Germany, although
many fine bookplates were produced. The aesthetics of the
strong baroque image degenerated into a heavy rococo style
which lacks the delicacy and elegance of its French or British
counterparts.
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2a/1. ? (D)  AMBROSIUS, GRAF VIRMONT ZU NERSEN, C2,
155 x 126, c.1720. W36.
Strong frontal heraldic presentation is still fashionable in Germany during this period, but the mantling has lost the grace of earlier compositions and appears flat. There exists also a smaller version (90 x 67) for this large and important library. |
2a/2. Johann Christof Susang (D, 1703-1757) JOHANN
PETER VON LUDEWIG, C2, 206 x 151, c.1720. W1206.
Well-known professor of law and history, Ludewig was given letters of nobility by the Emperor Charles VI in 1719, as the ex-libris indicates. Susang also spelt his name ‘Sysang’; he was from Leipzig. The ex-libris's late baroque style is typical of the period. |
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2a/3. S. G. (D) CHRISTIAN ERNST, GRAF STOLBERG-GEDERN,
C2, 94 x 67, 1721. W2116.
This German stateman’s ex-libris is a good example of how, in the 18th century, coats of arms were often presented on a background or setting, rather than just placed in a cartouche. It seems likely that the owner engraved the plate for himself. |
2a/4. ? (D) BISCHOF GOTTFRIED LANGWERT, C2, 118 x 90,
1728. W1102.
A double cartouche with backdrop of mantling defines the baroque style of this plate. Ecclesiastical ex-libris are plentiful in the 18th century. |
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2a/5. Michael Kauffer (D, 1673-1756) CHRISTOF OTTO,
GRAF VON SCHALLENBERG, C2, 117 x 77, c.1735. W1869.
Kauffer worked in Augsburg, and this ex-libris shows how the earlier ‘knotted mantling’ (Viz. No. 1/b 33) was transformed into a tent-like background to the arms. The helmed lion supporters are noteworthy. |
2a/6. Franz Xaver Jungwirth (D, 1729-1790) KLOSTER
POLLING, C2, 132 x 85, 1744. W1604.
Viz. L-W p.306 ill., 307.
The important monastery of Polling had a library of over 80000 volumes, including Spanish and Portuguese literature, and Warnecke registers seven ex-libris for this institution. Jungwirth engraved a second plate (W1603), with a third coat of arms instead of the child’s head. The ‘rocaille’ or shell-like pattern |
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2a/7. ? (D) MICHAEL SCHNOCK, ABT ZU EBERBACH, C2,
142 x 89, c.1750. W1946.
Viz. L-W p. 296, 297 ill.
A splendid German rococo-style cartouche surrounds the arms of the Abbot of Eberbach, a cistercian monastery in the Rheingau. |
2a/8. C. Körner (D) LEOPOLD VON HOHENHAUSEN, C2,
148 x 91, c.1750. W883.
All three plates which Warnecke registers for Hohenhausen are by Munich artists. In style, this one is an interesting example of a rococo trophy plate. |
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2a/9. ? (D) CARL WILHELM, GRAF VON UND ZU DAUN, C2,
126 x 79, 1753.
If the preceding plate shows a lack of modesty from an ecclesiastical personality, Count Daun has even less restraint. He lists his honours, and what must be his portrait dominates the image. The Order is Bavarian, but seems different to that of St. Michael. |
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2a/10. ? (D) GUSTAV GEORG KöNIG VON KöNIGSTHAL, C2,
129 x 81, c.1760. W1038.
A perfect example of pure rococo ‘rocaille’ style. Ex musaeo is sometimes used instead of ex libris, and is taken to signify from the collection of. |
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2a/11. ? (D) CHRISTOF JAKOB TREU, C2, 165 x 135, c.1760.
W2212.
Viz. BPSJ 1985, Vol.3, No. 1, p. 26, ill. p. 16, L-W p. 262. Professor Trew of Nuremberg was an eminent physician, anatomist and botanist, and his beautiful ex-libris exists in seven different sizes. The arms with cornucopia are his, and the others are those of the Academy of Emperor Leopold. It is an allegorical plate: the dog symbolises fidelity (‘Treue”). |
2a/12. Christian Wink (D, 1738-1797) & Johann Michael
Söckler (D, 1744-1781) BIBL. ELECT. MüNCHEN, C2, 166 x
100, 1779. W1380.
Viz. L-W p. 196 ill., 198.
It is interesting to compare this ex-libris with the earlier ones for the Electoral Library at Munich (1b/32, 1c/1). As Leiningen points out, this is a good example of the formal taste of the time: the lions are reduced to mere caricatures. |
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2a/13. ? (D) GRAF LAUHN, C2, 183 x 163, c.1770. W1110.
Viz.
L-W p. 212, 213 ill.
This plate was probably that of Bernhard Friedrich Rudolf Lauhn, Imperial Count Palatine, Doctor of Law and Counsellor to the Elector of Saxony. This flamboyant trophy plate has above the central coat of arms of the owner, the shields – from left to right – of the Electorate of Trèves. Köln and Mainz, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Holy Roman Empire (with the small Austrian escutcheon and the Order of the Golden Fleece), the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the Electorates of the Palatinate, Saxony and Brandenburg. |
2a/14. S. Halle (D) GRAF VON DER BORCH LüBESCHUTZ, C2,
152 x 111, 1790. W233.
This Berlin artist was active well into the 19th Century, but this plate is in typical late 18th century style, returning to a more classical image after the heavy rococo exuberance. |
End of 2a
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