Various - Amicitiae Sacrum - Das Herslebsche Stammbuch - 1913

Amicitiae Sacrum – Das Herslebsche Stammbuch – Insel-Verlag – 1913 – Limited edition 233/275 – Multicolour collotype facsimile

Amicitiae Sacrum – Das Herslebsche Stammbuch
Leipzig, Insel-Verlag, 1913.
A remarkable and finely produced facsimile edition of the famous Hersleb Stammbuch (album amicorum), reproducing an 18th-century friendship and travel album containing handwritten contributions, drawings, portraits, musical notation and other artistic entries.
Published by the renowned Insel-Verlag in Leipzig in a strictly limited edition of only 275 numbered copies. This is copy no. 233.
The plates were reproduced by the Reichsdruckerei in Berlin using multicolour collotype (“mehrfarbiger Lichtdruck”), a sophisticated printing process particularly suited to the faithful reproduction of drawings, handwriting, washes and subtle colour variations. The result is exceptionally convincing: many leaves retain much of the visual character of the original manuscript drawings and inscriptions.
The original Stammbuch belonged to Jacob/Jakob Hersleb and records the international intellectual, artistic and social circles encountered during his travels in the late 18th century. The reproduced entries include dated inscriptions and drawings from various European locations and contain an extraordinary variety of material: portraits, figure studies, architectural subjects, landscapes, humorous drawings, calligraphic inscriptions and even musical notation.
At the time this facsimile was produced, the original manuscript had entered the celebrated Kippenberg Collection in Leipzig, as stated in the accompanying afterword.
The volume is attractively bound in a decorative mottled binding with elaborate gilt tooling to the boards, gilt edges and marbled endpapers. The binding deliberately evokes the appearance of an 18th-century Stammbuch.
Edition: limited to 275 numbered copies
This copy: no. 233
Publisher: Insel-Verlag, Leipzig
Year: 1913
Printing of the facsimile plates: Reichsdruckerei, Berlin
Technique: multicolour collotype / mehrfarbiger Lichtdruck
The volume is complete.
Very attractive condition for its age. The binding remains decorative and well preserved, with only normal minor signs of age and use. The facsimile leaves are generally remarkably fresh and clean.