NEUDÖRFFER, Johann, the Elder.

Extremely rare reprint of Neudörffer the Elder’s (1497-1563) designs for a roman alphabet, first engraved in this format by Fleischberger c.1660, consisting of twelve exquisitely engraved plates with geometrical designs for letters. These fall into the Renaissance tradition of letter design according to the principles of perspective, derived from Euclidian geometry via Vitruvius (see Donald M. Anderson, ‘A Renaissance Alphabet (Wisconsin: 1971), pp. ix-xi). The letters appear two to a plate, each initial accompanied by an alphabetically suitable calligraphic verse in German, the plates decorated with fabulous and whimsical borders featuring mammals, insects, reptiles, crustaceans, shells, fruits, heraldic and religious symbols, rebuses and grotesqueries, musical instruments including bagpipes, a minute ceramic stove and a wagon drawn by four horses. These decorative elements fit with the book’s stated purpose, which is for the use of youth, but the title-page also advertises its application to scribes, painters, sculptors, joiners, stonemasons and other artists. An often overlooked contemporary of Albrecht Dürer, Neudörffer’s Gute Ordnüng of 1538 was the first German writing manual or book of calligraphy and he has been called the founder of the art in Germany (ADB).