Fleurs du Printemps et de L'Este (section)
Manuscript-Florilegium
Early 17th century
Estimate: € 40 000

Besides sketches of domestic and exotic flowers, the florilegium also contains 19 illustrations of tulips, which were the most valuable flowers by far in those days. The sense for an esthetic perception of plants and not only the question regarding their mere medical usage was growing in the 17th century. Models were found in splendid baroque gardens with representative purposes. With an estimate of € 40 000 the manuscript counts among the auction’s highlights.

With the "Flora Danica" yet another floral masterpiece will be called up. The complete Danish edition of the first 29 issues of this most significant Scandinavian botanic work from 1766 will be sold in the upcoming auction. Even today it is still the most comprehensive account of Danish, Norwegian and northern German flora. Numerous illustrations were made by, among others, Martin and Michael Rößler of Nuremberg. The estimate for this book with 1860 copper plates is at € 15.000.

The same accounts for a Latin Book of Hours from the second half of the 15th century. The magnificent and richly illustrated manuscript on vellum from either France or Flanders was arranged in a way so that even laymen had easy access to its content. The individual sections each begin with a caption in red and a large initial with an extremely appealing miniature in a high quality.

The section of zoology is headed by Thomas Pennant‘s "Zoologica Britannica. Britische Thierge-schichte". The first Latin-German edition in the translation of the Nuremberg cultural historian Christoph Gottlieb Murr is a splendid work on Great Britain’s birds and tetrapods, it comprises 132 copper plates in an old coloring. Released in the years between 1771 and 78, it will enter the race with an estimate of € 28 000.

Thomas Whichcote‘s "A plan of mathematical learning taught in the Royal Academy Portsmouth" will be a delight not only for mathematicians. The unique manuscript book, with lavishly and thoroughly executed illustrations on shipping, was made in 1904 and covers all topics relevant for the navy, among them arithmetic, navigation, sailors‘ readings, mechanics and trigonometry. The estimate is at € 15 000.

Among the autographs, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling is represented with several letters. Besides a letter to Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué (estimate: € 900), in which he asks him to participate in his Allgemeine Zeitschrift von Deutschen für Deutsche (General Magazine by Germans for Germans), an early unprinted writing (estimate: € 600) by the 23-year old Schelling to the unmentioned publisher Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipzig, who published his Ideen zu einer Philosophie der Natur (Ideas on a Philosophy of Nature) in 1797, will also make for some excitement in the auction.

The range of offers is topped off by a wide variety of modern illustrated books, among them renowned portfolios, silkscreens in colors and contemporary works. Particularly worthwhile mentioning is a small series of expressionist woodcuts by Karl Lorenz with estimates ranging between € 400 and € 1 500.

Ernst Eitner
Selbstbildnis mit Hut. 1920
Oil on paper
41 x 32 x 31,5 cm (16.1 x 12.5 x 12.4
Estimate: € 10 000

Along with Rare Books, Manuscripts, Autographs and Decorative Prints, the auction also comprises works from the section of Maritime and North German Art.

Ernst Eitner’s "Selbstbildnis mit Hut" (Self with Hat) must be mentioned first and foremost for this part of the auction, a striking portrait of the contemplating artist that captures the observer. The oeuvre of Eitner may well comprise several self-portraits, however, the majority of them were made in earlier days. The oil painting from 1920 was presumably made for close friends or relatives. The estimate is at € 10 000.

In the section of Maritime Art important works by renowned artists such as Hans Bohrdt, Jules Brun, Lorenz Petersen and Peter Chr. Holm, Carl Saltzmann and Willy Stöwer will be called up.