Ansichten des Herzoglich-Württembergischen Landsizes Hohenheim. Ansichten von Hohenheim: Lieferung I-VI. [In six parts.]

Nuremberg: Johann Friedrich Frauenholz, 1800. 6 vols.; folio. (20 x 15 inches). Engraved hand-colored plan and 37 fine hand-colored aquatint plates. Publisher's neat blindstamp to a few plate margins. Original printed wrappers with marbled paper spines, labels on covers of all six volumes, within a cloth chemise and quarter green morocco clamshell box. [Together with:] HEIDELOFF, Victor (1757-1817). Merkwürdigste Innere Ansichten der Gebæude und Gartenpartien in Hohenheim. Heft I-3. [Nuremberg]: Johann Friedrich Frauenholz, 1795. 3 vols; folio (19 x 13 3/4 inches). 6 fine hand-colored aquatint plates. Original silk-covered limp boards with printed white silk label to upper covers bordered in gilt within a cloth chemise and quarter green morocco clamshell box. Two splendid works depicting the gardens and lavish interiors at the Duke of Württemberg's estate in Hohenheim.

Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (1728-1793), acquired the former manor of Bombast von Hohenheim for his mistress and later wife Franziska von Hohenheim (1748-1811) in 1768. The garden was reconstructed along the lines of an English estate (one of the first in Germany) under the auspices of the court architect Reinhard Heinrich Ferdinand Fischer (1746-1813). Around 60 buildings, comprising follies and monuments in Baroque and antique styles, were added to the property before the Duke's death in 1793. Though much of the estate fell into disrepair, several of the buildings were ultimately preserved and the site now houses the botanical gardens of the University of Hohenheim. The present copy of Ansichten des Herzoglich-Württembergischen Landsizes Hohenheim is the only complete copy we could trace for sale, the last example being one with the plan and only 23 plates that was sold at Sotheby's in 1965. The work includes the following plates: Vol. 1 plates: Grundriss Des Gartens, Facade Des Schloss, Die Köhler-Hütte, Das Boudoir, Tempel Der Vesta, Hallers Monument. Vol. 2 plates: Das Grabmal Des Nero, Die Meyerei, Das Romische Gefängis, Das Grosse Schweizer-Haus, Das Knaben-Haus, Das Romische Bad. Vol. 3 plates: Das Rothhauss, Das Treib, Der Lange See, Das Wirthshauss, Die Mühle, Der Sibillen-Tempel. Vol. 4 plates: Der Alte Thurm, Das Schul-Hall, Die Militair-Strasse, Das Spiel-Haus, Die Gothische Kirche, Der Alte Thurm. Vol. 5 plates: Der Flora-Tempel, Der Bogen und Das Fischer-Haus, Der Mercurs-Tempel, Die Säule, Der Feigen-Saal, Die Grossen Romischen Bäder. Vol. 6 plates: Die Drey Eiegesunkanen, Die Piramide, Die Gothische Kapelle, Die Einsideler, Der Cibelle-Tempel, Das Laboratorium, Der See mit Der Insel, Die Käse Kuche, Register. The second work in this set, Merkwürdigste Innere Ansichten der Gebæude und Gartenpartien in Hohenheim, depicts the interiors and many features of the Duke's complex of buildings. The beautiful aquatints in the work's three volumes take one on a tour, starting in the grotto behind the waterfall, and ending in the concert hall, with stops along the way in the covered horse-riding arena, the Boudoir, the Gothic church, and the library. These engravings are a spectacular lens onto 18th century German court life and its environs.