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Description

Nice old color example of the first state of Braun & Hogenberg's view of Delft.

The first state includes a simple lettered title cartouche and the name "Deelft" at the top. The later state adds a more elaborate script in both the title and the top lettering.

The translation of the title is: Delphum, a highly cultivated city in Holland, named after the canal of the same name, in Dutch Delft.

Text on the verso translates as follows (Taschen):

Delft is surrounded by thick ring walls and with such a wide moat that even a strong man can barely throw a stone across it. The buildings within are magnificently constructed. If we start with the churches, first mention must go to the main church, called the New Church, a large, magnificent and beautiful church dedicated to St Ursula. There is also a large market in the city.

The city, criss-crossed by numerous narrow canals, is seen in a bird's-eye from the east. Its main buildings, on other hand, are presented in an impressive fashion in side view: the New Church (Nieuwe Kerck) on the market square with its enormous tower and the Gothic town hall (Das Rath huis). Granted its charter in 1246, Delft became an important centre of trade for the region. In 1618 the town hall burned to the ground and - with the exception of its prison tower Het Steen - thus no longer survives in the form illustrated here. Not far from the central market square rises the Oude Kerk, whose leaning tower, known as the "Lange Jan", has become Delft's landmark. Behind the Oude Kerk lies the convent of Sint-Agatha, today known as the Prinsenhof (Prince's Court), since William I, Prince of Orange, resided here. 

Condition Description
Engraving on 16th-century laid paper. Original hand-color in full. Archivally backed with a thin layer of tissue.
Georg Braun Biography

Georg Braun (1541-1622) was born and died in Cologne. His primary vocation was as Catholic cleric; he spent thirty-seven years as canon and dean at the church St. Maria ad Gradus, in Cologne. Braun was the chief editor of the Civitates orbis terrarum, the greatest book of town views ever published.  His job entailed hiring artists, acquiring source material for the maps and views, and writing the text. In this role, he was assisted by Abraham Ortelius. Braun lived into his 80s, and he was the only member of the original team to witness the publication of the sixth volume in 1617.

Frans Hogenberg Biography

Frans Hogenberg (ca. 1540-ca. 1590) was a Flemish and German engraver and mapmaker who also painted. He was born in Mechelen, south of Antwerp, the son of wood engraver and etcher Nicolas Hogenberg. Together with his father, brother (Remigius), uncle, and cousins, Frans was one member of a prominent artistic family in the Netherlands.

During the 1550s, Frans worked in Antwerp with the famous mapmaker Abraham Ortelius. There, he engraved the maps for Ortelius’ groundbreaking first atlas, published in Antwerp in 1570, along with Johannes van Deotecum and Ambrosius and Ferdinand Arsenius. It is suspected he engraved the title page as well. Later, Ortelius supported Hogenberg with information for a different project, the Civitates orbis terrarium (edited by Georg Braun, engraved by Hogenberg, published in six volumes, Cologne, 1572-1617). Hogenberg engraved the majority of the work’s 546 prospects and views.

It is possible that Frans spent some time in England while fleeing from religious persecution, but he was living and working in Cologne by 1580. That is the city where he died around 1590. In addition to his maps, he is known for his historical allegories and portraits. His brother, Remigius, also went on to some fame as an engraver, and he died around the same time as his brother.