Heideloff, Carl. Volkstrachten des Koenigreichs Würtemberg.

€ 8,500.00

Rare, complete set of these splendid costume plates originally prepared for the King of Württemberg: a fine example of visual folk history. Each of the sumptuously coloured plates depicts an administrative division of the Kingdom of Württemberg, featuring couples and families in traditional Swabian garb, some accompanied by dogs, equipped with baskets of fruits or eggs, prayer books or tools, set against an idyllic provincial scenery showing farm houses, hilltop castles, churches, piety columns, neighbouring towns, woods, and rivers.

The plates are as follows: Ebingen, Tübingen, Calw, Cannstadt, Ochsenhausen, Leutkirch, Ellwangen, Göppingen, Urach, Marbach, Biberach, and Ulm. The aquatint etchings are based on a series of watercoloured pen-and-ink drawings commissioned by the king. The precise year of issue is not clear: Thieme/Becker dates the "Volkstrachten" to 1824, while Lipperheide cites 1810-15 as the date of issue. Possibly the drawings were prepared as early as 1810, with the etchings following a couple of years later.

Loosely enclosed is a 20th century typed note stating that the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart has certified the present set to be complete as issued.

Some light marginal foxing. A fine copy.