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HAND-COLOURED LITHOGRAPHS OF PFEIFFER'S STAGE DESIGNS
DELUXE ISSUE OF PRIMARY SOURCE FOR DUTCH THEATRE HISTORY
PFEIFFER, François Joseph junior, Jacob van LENNEP and G. van ENST KONING. Toneel Decoratief, voorgesteld in op steen geteekende platen door F.J. Pfeiffer Jr., in leven tooneelschilder en decorateur van den Amsterdamschen Schouwburg; benevens zijn portret. Mitsgaders toepasselijke dichterlijke bijschriften van Mr. J. van Lennep ... en eene levensschets, vervaardigd door G. van Enst Koning.
Amsterdam, G. Weddepohl, 1845. Folio. With a letterpress title-page printed in gold and black on heavy coated paper, a lithographed portrait of the artist, 8 lithographed plates of stage designs, and 9 poems in red decorated letterpress frames, the lithographs by Desguerrois & Co. With the 8 plates of stage designs hand-coloured as published. Original publisher's light brown cloth, gold-blocked with a lyre in a decorative frame on each board, green embossed endpapers, a tissue guard over each lithograph and the title-page, gilt edges.
| Orders and Information | € 1275 |
Deluxe issue of the first and only edition of a memorial to the costume and stage designer François Joseph Pfeiffer Jr. (1778-1835), with a biographical sketch by Gerrit van Enst Koning (1794-1853), lithographic portrait, lists of his work and coloured lithographs of his stage designs, with a poem facing the portrait and each of the stage designs, all written for present book by the famous Dutch author and poet Jacob van Lennep (1802-1868), those facing the stage designs describing them and their roles in the plays. Pfeiffer was best known for his Romantic stage designs for the Amsterdam Schouwburg (city theatre). From 1820 to 1835 he created complete decors for many different acts, but none has survived. The lithographs in the present book therefore form an essential primary source for the history of Dutch theatre. Also included is a list of the most important decorations Pfeiffer made for various theatres.
The stage designs shown are:
1. Jeanne d'Arc, of de maagd van Orléans. (5e bedrijf)
2. Lambert Melisz, of de ouderlievende jongeling van Westzanen. (2e bedrijf)
3. Saffo. (1e bedrijf)
4. Saffo. (2e bedrijf)
5. Het vrijschot of de zwarte jager. (2e bedrijf)
6. Haarlems verlossing. (1e bedrijf)
7. Sémiramis. (4e bedrijf)
8. Preciosa of het Spaansch heldinnetje. (2e bedrijf)
The book was published in three different issues, the least expensive with the stage views uncoloured, the next with them coloured, and the present deluxe issue with the views coloured, the title-page in gold and black on coated paper, the binding with an additional gold-blocked frame and the endpapers embossed with a branch pattern.
With the owner's stamp of Jacob Martin Severinus Heuckeroth (1853-1936), assistent conductor of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra under Willem Mengelberg. A very good copy, with the margins of the portrait foxed. Slightly loose in the spine and with a couple small holes in the cloth, but the binding is generally very good. Deluxe issue of an important primary source for the history of Dutch stage design, and a feast for the eye, with its beautiful hand-coloured stage designs.
