[Colour plate book] [Berg, Joh. Aug.]
Bilder aus dem Schwedischen Volksleben. Zwölf blatt nach originalgemälden schwedischer künstler in farbendrück ausgeführt von Arnz & Co. in Düsseldorf. Mit beschreibendem text in deutcher, englisher und schwedicher sprache (..).
Gothenburg. Verlag von D. F. Bonnier. Leipzig bei K. F. Köhler. 1855. Folio. 39,5 x 51 cm. Title + (24 pp.) + 12 plates in colour lithography. This copy has the rare german internal title page. The cover title is in Swedish, german and english.
Red cloth spine. Original paper boards with title inside a decorative frame work on the front board. Worn and loose binding. Inner hinges cracked. Ink stains at the back board. Fraying and small loses to the margins of the front fly leaf and the title page. The title with a 15 cm long tear. Some creases to the front fly leaf, title and a couple of guard papers. The odd spot here and there in the margins and on the guead papers. A couple of plates with more spots and stains in the margins. Overall nice and clean plates.
A german edition of the work "Bilder ur svenska folklifvet. Tolf teckningar efter originaler af B. Nordenberg, K. Zoll, J. W. Wallander, J. Höckert och B. Wennerberg". The book has beautiful lithographs showing country life in Sweden in the mid 19th. century. We can see the interior of a Sami dwelling, religious fanatics, a wedding, a harvest, a horse market, smugglers and so on. Two pages of text to each picture with parallel text in german, swedish and english. The originals were painted in the style of the Düsseldorf School by the best artists. By the mid 19th. century it was apparent that the old way of life was swiftly disappearing as the industrial revolution swept across Europe. Artists started to document the traditional lifestyles and customs before it was to late. This album is a swedish example of that movement. The publisher, Bonnier, called it "the most beautiful and brilliant" of books. It was one of the most costly and advanced scandinavian book projects of the mid 19th century. 1500 copies were printed, a comparatively large number.
Item No: 3714
