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Lot 169 - Antique German Decorative Arts Portfolio "Das Kunsthandwerk" Collection Of Engraved And Chromolithographed Plates Published By W. Spemann, Stuttgart, 1874

Lot 169 - Antique German Decorative Arts Portfolio "Das Kunsthandwerk" Collection Of Engraved And Chromolithographed Plates Published By W. Spemann, Stuttgart, 1874

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Disbound portfolio of loose engraved and chromolithographed plates from "Das Kunsthandwerk: Sammlung mustergültiger kunstgewerblicher Gegenstände aller Zeiten" (Art Crafts: Collection of Exemplary Artistic and Craft Objects of All Periods), edited by Bruno Bucher and Adolf Gnauth and published by W. Spemann in Stuttgart, 1874. This was Spemann's first major publishing venture and became an important reference work in German decorative arts literature. The portfolio contains plates housed between plain cardboard covers with remnants of original cloth spine ties and marked "I 1/12" in crayon on the front board, indicating this is part 1 of 12 parts from the first year-volume. The publication was issued in three annual volumes from 1874-1876, with year one containing 86 plates total. Plates feature elaborate architectural title pages with Renaissance-style borders containing allegorical figures and lists of prominent European correspondents including art historians Julius Lessing, Wilhelm Lübke, and Johann Rudolf Rahn. Content includes engraved plates documenting historical decorative arts such as ornamental painting by Zeitblom from the Museum of National Antiquities in Stuttgart, decorative keys from the 16th century, and chromolithographed textile and ceramic patterns, each with German descriptive text. Adolf Gnauth was a prominent architect, professor at Stuttgart Polytechnikum, and later Director of the Kunstgewerbeschule Nürnberg, and a major figure in the Neo Renaissance movement in Southern Germany. Folio shows age-appropriate wear with separated binding, edge losses, toning, and handling wear consistent with 150-year-old unbound plates.
Item dimensions are of each book plate print. Bound folio measures 12" x 16-3/4"

Dimensions: 11-7/8" W x 16-3/8" H

Auction Date: 12/11/2025

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