Koypl [Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694-1752), Artist]

Bilder zum Don Quixote oder: Darstellungen der interessantesten humoristischen Scenen aus dem Fahrten des Junkers "Don Quixote von Mancha" ["Pictures of Don Quixote"]; in Ein und Dreissig Blattern nach Koypl gestochen, nebst einer beigedruckten Erklarund der Kupfer

Prag [Prague]: Adolf Kuranda, (1860). Hardcover. Quarto size, 64 pp., text entirely in German. Very good. Item #19032106

Charles-Antoine Coypel (1694-1752) served as "First Painter to the King" to the French court, succeeding to that role in 1722 upon the death of his father who, along with his father before him, were both artists. This series of illustrations were drawn by Coypel as designs for a collection of tapestries for the Gobelins manufactory; the illustrations "were painted as cartoons for tapestries, and were engraved and published in a deluxe folio in Paris in 1724" (n.b., per Wiki).

According to some, Coypel "was the first to illustrate Don Quixote in a sophisticated manner". We all know the story: Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) tells of the adventures of the nobleman Alonso Quixano, who, after reading many chivalric romances, decides to set out on a quest to revive chivalry under the name Don Quixote de la Mancha; he imagines himself as a knight on a noble mission to fight for justice in the world, even though the world he lives in no longer resembles his romantic fantasies.

This volume presents thirty-one of Coypel's irresistable illustrations of Cervantes' renowned novel, with an excerpt from the text below (in German), this copy published in Prague likely in 1860 (the copyright date). As of this writing, there are two copies of this title online but published in Vienna, with no copies of this Prague publication. Auction records locate a single copy of the Vienna publication and none from Prague; OCLC locates two copies of this Prague publication, at the University of California, Berkeley and the Huntington Library.

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full aubergine cloth, gilt lettering and decorations debossed on the front board, blind-debossed decorative borders on both boards, yellow coated endpapers, the first leaf consists of the title page with a list of illustrations on the verso, the following leaves with the illustrations and printing only on the recto; quarto size (11" by 8 5/8"), pagination: [1-2] followed by thirty-one unnumbered leaves of illustrations. Please note that the text is entirely in German.

___CONDITION: Very good overall, with a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean, the contents collate complete, the only prior owner markings being on the front pastedown, one small, vintage label for "Friedrich Munchrath" in Sioux City, Iowa, and next to that a newer label with a name and address hand-written; we had a professional restorer (name available upon request) repaid the head and tail of the spine and the hinges, which are now strong and sturdy; the volume shows overall exterior soil, the corners are somewhat rubbed, there is a vintage prior bookseller price of $2.00 on the upper corner of the front free endpaper, and the interior shows toning, foxing, and the occasional small, old dampstain.

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Price: $300.00