Grisone / Fayser / Fugger - Künstlicher Bericht / Hippiatria / Gestüterey - 1576-1584

THREE WORKS - GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS - ARMORED AND MEDICATED HORSE: THE 16TH-CENTURY EQUESTRIAN SCIENCE
Three fundamental treatises on horsemanship from the Cinquecento bound in a refined German composite volume, in a splendid contemporary binding, in pigskin, folio. Hundreds of splendid illustrations, some finely watercolored.
1. Federico Grisone, Künstlicher Bericht und allerzierlichste beschreybung … German version expanded and edited by Johann Fayser the Younger, Augsburg, Michael Manger for Georg Willer, 1580.
2. Johann Fayser, Hippiatria. Gründlicher Bericht der bewerten Roßartzney, Augsburg, 1576.
3. Marcus Fugger, Von der Gestüterey, Frankfurt, Sigmund Feyerabend, 1584.
This composite volume brings together three fundamental 16th-century horsemanship treatises, printed between Augsburg and Frankfurt and intended for an educated audience of knights, veterinarians, and military nobility. Grisone’s work in its rare expanded German edition, Fayser’s Hippiatria, and Fugger’s treatise on breeding constitute an unprecedented compendium of Renaissance equestrian culture. The 88 full-page wood engravings, also attributed to the circle of Jost Amman, and the presence, though incomplete, of the horse anatomical plate make this set a crucial document for the history of European cavalry, veterinary medicine, and Renaissance illustrated publishing.
MARKET VALUE - ESTIMATED TOTAL FOR THE COMPOSITE VOLUME
Considering the joint presence of the three treatises by Federico Grisone, Johann Fayser, and Marcus Fugger, the extensive iconographic apparatus (88 full-page wood engravings attributed to the circle of Jost Amman), the contemporary binding, and the overall quality of the bibliophile assembly, the current value of the composite volume is estimated in a range of 14,000–18,000 USD. The prestige of the contemporary binding and the bookish provenance significantly enhance collector interest.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary leather binding, traces of metal clasps, blind-stamped spine with manuscript title. Front titles printed in red and black with an engraved border. Hundreds of splendid illustrations, some finely watercolored. In total 88 full-page wood engravings and numerous in-text figures. A well-preserved copy. As with many old books, with a multi-centennial history, there are some imperfections not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 20nn. 235; 44nn. 26nn. 154; 4nn. 16nn. 258

1. TITLE & AUTHOR
Künstlicher Bericht und allerzierlichste beschreybung … wie die Streitbarn Pferdt … zum Ernst und Ritterlicher Kurtzweil geschickt und volkommen zumachen
Federico Grisone, Neapolitan knight
Expanded and reorganized German edition by Johann Fayser the Younger
Augsburg, printed by Michael Manger for Georg Willer, 1580

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Frontispiece in red and black with a broad woodcut frame. Numerous full-page wood engravings depicting horsemen, trappings, postures, tournaments, and training scenes. Some physiological browning.
Collation: pp. (2), 20 nn., 235 pp.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This third German edition of the famous Ordini di cavalcare (1550) represents far more than a mere linguistic transfer: it is a thorough re-foundation of the text for the Germanic knightly world. The work conveys an idea of the horse as an projection of social and moral order, where training becomes discipline of body and spirit, reflecting humankind’s mastery over nature and, by extension, political and military power. The full-page engravings, striking in narrative force, illustrate postures, trappings, tournaments, and handling practices, turning the treatise into a visual manual destined for princes, officers, and military nobility. The European popularity of Grisone’s work is evidenced precisely by these expanded German editions, which marked the birth of an autonomous Central European equestrian tradition deeply rooted in the Italian model.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Federico Grisone, active in Naples in the mid-16th century, was one of the most influential knights and masters of arms of the Renaissance. He operated in a courtly milieu strongly permeated by military culture, humanism, and spectacle, contributing to the codification of horsemanship as a theoretical discipline. His Ordini di cavalcare is considered the first great modern treatise on equestrian art and profoundly influenced later writers in Italy, France, Spain, and Germany. His austere and sometimes controversial methods reflect the Renaissance ideal of absolute control of the horse as a metaphor for the mastery of a learned and armed man.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Augsburg edition situates itself at the peak of the text’s diffusion in the German-speaking area. The engravings, unsigned, are attributed to a master close to the circle of Jost Amman.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
VD16 G 3373; Lipperheide Tc 3; Nissen 1723.
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2. TITLE & AUTHOR
Hippiatria. Gründlicher Bericht der bewerten Roßartzney
Johann Fayser the Young, stable master and equine veterinarian
Augsburg, 1576

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Frontispiece with woodcut. Numerous figures in the text; splendid anatomically accurate plate of the horse, folded several times, rebound after the colophon. Sturdy and well-printed pages with some physiological browning.
Collation: 44 nn., 26 nn., 154 pp.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Johann Fayser’s Hippiatria constitutes one of the foundational pillars of equine veterinary medicine in the Germanic world. The text systematizes knowledge that had hitherto been fragmentary, integrating classical sources, the empirical tradition of the stables, and direct observation of the animal’s body. Particular emphasis is placed on the anatomical and therapeutic approach, foreshadowing a scientific conception of the horse as a complex organism rather than a mere war machine. The large folded anatomical plate, designed as a teaching aid, represents one of the high points of Renaissance veterinary illustration. The work marks the crucial transition from artisanal practice to veterinary science as an autonomous discipline, aimed at a professional audience of highly specialized practitioners.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Johann Fayser the Younger was a stable master and equine veterinarian active in the 16th century at the Würzburg court. A hinge figure between practice and theory, Fayser translated daily experience at princely stables into structured, transmittable knowledge. His publishing activity, which also includes the reworking of Grisone’s work, places him among the principal cultural mediators of Italian equestrian art in the Germanic world. Hippiatria remained for decades a reference text for the care and management of war horses.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed in Augsburg, the work had selective circulation among princely stables and military circles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
VD16 F 670; Wellcome I, 2183.
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3. TITLE & AUTHOR
Von der Gestüterey, das ist von der Zucht und Haltung der Pferde
Marcus Fugger
Frankfurt, printed by Sigmund Feyerabend, 1584

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Frontispiece illustrated. 38 wood engravings attributed to Jost Amman depicting breeding, selection, and management of war horses. Cards well preserved, mild signs of use.
Collation: 4 nn., 16 nn., 258 pp.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
With Von der Gestüterey, Marcus Fugger approaches horse breeding from a new perspective, blending science, economy, and military strategy. The horse is conceived here as a fundamental resource of the modern state, essential for war, dynastic prestige, and political stability. Fugger analyzes breed selection, stable management, and the organization of breeding with a rational, systematic approach. The wood engravings attributed to Jost Amman are not mere ornaments but epistemic tools that visualize ideal horse models, breeding practices, and productive structures. The work sits at the crossroads of a technical treatise and economic reflection, anticipating a modern vision of animal resource management.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Marcus Fugger (1529–1597) belonged to the famous Augsburg banking and merchant family, a key player in the economic and cultural life of early modern Europe. A humanist, collector, and scholar, Fugger applied the rational, organizational mindset of Renaissance entrepreneurship to the world of horse breeding. His interest in the horse reflects a broad view of power, where economy, war, and technical knowledge are closely interconnected. His work remains one of the clearest examples of horsemanship literature conceived as the applied science of the state.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed in Frankfurt, a major European printing center, the work enjoyed a marked diffusion among aristocratic and military circles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
VD16 F 3334; Becker, Amman 22 b; Andresen I, nr. 245; BM German Books 327.