| Method | Copper engraving |
| Artist | Daniel Meisner |
| Published | Nuremberg: Paulus Furst, 1638-78 |
| Dimensions | Image 72 x 140, Plate 105 x 150 mm, Sheet 165 x 182 mm |
| Notes |
A miniature bird's-eye plan of the city of Edinburgh, drawn from Braun & Hogenberg's plan, from Daniel Meisner's Sciographia Cosmica, with verses inscribed in Latin and German below. Inscription above image reads: Vim Suscitat Ira [Wrath rouses violence]. Gentleman to right of foreground with swords pointing at his face illustrates this Virgilian motto. Text below image embodies the moral message illustrated in the foreground, and reads: reads: 'Ira furor brevis est, ingrescunt sanguine venoe, Littura serpentis triplicatur et arma ministrat, aus zorn der Alexander grosz, seins fruendes cliti blut vergosz: Ein zorniger thut nichts zu mahl, auss speyer dann S. S. ohn zahl.' Meisner's emblem book, containing over 800 pictorial-poetic compositions, was enormously popular throughout Europe in the 17th century. The plan views were based on the work of De Bry, Braun & Hogenberg, Merian and others with the addition of emblematic figures or scenes in the foreground, juxtaposed with moralising and edifying verses beneath the image and a Latin motto at top. It was originally issued with 52 plates as the Thesaurus philo-politicus in 1623-24. After Meisner's death in 1625, Eberhard Kieser, with assistance from Johann L. Gottfried, completed the work and published it until 1631. The plates then appeared in the eight parts of Sciographia Cosmica published by Paulus Furst between 1638-78. The plates for these editions were renumbered alpha-numerically in the upper right corners - A-H (identifying the 8 parts) and 1-100 (plate number). They were finally issued in 1700 and 1704 in Rudolf J. Helmer's Politica-politica. This is an early impression prior to the addition of a letter before the pagination. Condition: An excellent and rich impression. Some foxing and creasing to margins, not affecting plate or image. |
| Framing | mounted |
| Price | £380.00 |
| Stock ID | 44660 |