Chodowiecki - Almanach de Gotha - 1796

[CHODOWIECKI, Daniel / ALMANACH DE GOTHA]
Gothaischer Hof-Kalender zum Nutzen u. Vergnügen auf das Jahr 1796. Gotha, published by C. W. Ettinger, 1796. First edition.

A pocket-sized 16mo volume in its contemporary full red paper binding, decorated with a central black cold-stamped medallion (lyre) on the covers and a black geometric border, with gilt edges.

Exceptionally rare illustrations: An allegorical engraved frontispiece (Minerva and the lion of Gotha). A series of superb copperplate engravings, printed separately, drawn and engraved by the miniature master Daniel Chodowiecki (illustrating historical scenes, including Catherine of Aragon signing her marriage contracts, the Duke of Buckingham before the criminal court, and Cardinal Wolsey making Henry VIII his heir). Almanac plates devoted to fashion and accessories (fans, new hairstyles of the revolutionary era), as well as geometric and practical plates.

A highly sought-after collector’s item, this 1796 Almanach de Gotha, printed at the height of the revolutionary period in Europe, illustrates the ultimate refinement of 18th-century German miniature publishing. Published in Gotha by C. W. Ettinger, it is enhanced by the engravings of Daniel Chodowiecki (1726–1801), a Polish-born painter and engraver based in Berlin, considered the greatest illustrator and pastel artist of the German Enlightenment.

This copy stands out for its exceptional state of preservation in its contemporary red binding, delicately stamped with a lyre, retaining the complete bilingual calendar (German/Russian), its fashion plates (hairstyles and fans), and its major historical vignettes.

Almanacs of Gotha illustrated by Chodowiecki were among the most prized gift items at the courts of Europe in the 18th century. While France was experiencing the Reign of Terror and the upheavals of the First Republic, these small volumes transported readers into the great dramas of English and European history (such as the downfall of Cardinal Wolsey or Buckingham under the Tudors and Stuarts). The choice of historical subjects and women’s fashions of sovereign elegance stood in contrast to the continent’s geopolitical chaos in 1796.