O mighty Epicurus! make a hash of mine Enemies and barbacue their Malevolence; gather my Friends around me like unto a Ragout of Sweet-breads; and should I ever found a City let it be filled with good Things, and fat be the Men, fat be the Women, and fat be the Strangers surjourning therein.

O ye whose Breeches Pockets burn, Give lucky Peter Puff a turn; When Fortune beckons, never scorn her, But seek her Office, round the Corner. You cannot well mistake the Door, The Lamp is green–the Number four.

O all ye Household Gods who preside over cleanliness and good management, aid me in my arduous undertaking…

The Graphic Arts Collection holds a number of sets of prayers and journals engraved by Thomas Rowlandson. The ones posted here are from a bound set that comes with a hand-written index, presumably by Dixon Q. Brown, our donor.

Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), Prayers and Journals, engraved by Rowlandson after George Moutard Woodward (ca. 1760-1809) ([London]: R. Ackerman, printed by E. Spragg, No. 27, Bow-Street, Covent-Garden, 1801-1802]). Twelve prints with accompanying text; nine of the prints are from the Prayers series, most dated 1801, and three are from the Journals series, dated 1802. Graphic Arts Collection (GA) Rowlandson 1801.5.

George Cruikshank (1792-1878), The Chignon, 1870. Colored etching and copper printing plate. Graphic Arts Collection GA 2010.01192. Gift of Richard W. Meirs, Class of 1888.

The Meirs Collection of Cruikshanlciana, consists of 894 illustrated books as well as hundreds of prints, drawings, and watercolors presented by Richard W. Meirs, Class of 1888.

One of the many treasures Meirs collected and had specially bound is this pairing of an etched copper plate and the hand colored etching pulled from that plate.

For more information about Princeton’s holdings see E. D. H. Johnson, “The George Cruikshank Collection at Princeton,” The Princeton University Library Chronicle 85 (1973-74): 1-33.

Lettered below image “Designed & Etched by George Cruikshank” “The Chignon. The Chignon is a sort of Cupid’s nest, But where the little fellow has little rest, For it seems to be the Ladies delight, To keep him firing away, from Morn till night, But the brave Chaps who are hit, know tis their lot, And if the truth must be told, they like to be Shot! GCk 1870” and “London. Pub.d by W. Tweedie 337 Strand-”

Questione Romana Risolta (The Roman Question Resolved), no date (ca. 1929). Pen and watercolor. Graphic Arts Collection GAX European drawings

This unsigned drawing might be for a cartoon by Thomas Theodor Heine (1867-1948), a German artist and caricaturist, best known for the satirical Munich magazine Simplicissimus. However, the it might be from a later period. If you have seen the final printed version, please let us know. Note the artist’s mark on the lower right corner.

Detail of Falstaff

2016 will be the quatercentenary of William Shakespeare’s death and celebrations are planned around the globe on all aspects of Shakespearean history, poetry, and performance. We are planning several events at Princeton University, including a small gallery exhibition.

To that end, we pulled our elephant portfolio of Henry Bunbury’s Shakespeare prints–engravings with stipple and hand coloring–and I have posted a few of them here. The set was published by Thomas Macklin, manager of the Poet’s Gallery, in direct competition with John Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery.

Bunbury’s designs were engraved over five year by Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), Peltro William Tomkins (1760-1840), Thomas Cheeseman (active 1780-1790), and Robert Mitchell Meadows (died 1812).

Henry William Bunbury (1750-1811), Twenty-Two Plates Illustrative of Various Interesting Scenes in the Plays of Shakspeare (London: Published originally by the late T. Macklin, sold by J. Nichols & son, [1792-1796]). Graphic Arts Collection Oversize Rowlandson 1792.2e

Plates include:
Falstaff Playing the Prince, the Prince Playing the King; Romeo and Juliet in Friar Lawrence’s Cell; Macbeth and The Murderers; Falstaff at Hern’s Oak; Jacques discovered by the Duke; Rosalind, Celia & Touchstone; Falstaff’s Escape; Tameing the Shrew; Falstaff Reproved by King Henry; Helena in The Dress of A Pilgrim; Prospero Disarming Ferdinand;
Dick the Butcher & Smith the Weaver seizing the Clerk of Chatham; Fluellen makeing Pistol eat the leek; Florizel & Autolicus, Exchange Garments; Falstaff with Hotspur on his Back; The Supposed Death of Imogen; Launce teaching his Dog crab, to behave as a Dog in all things; Falstaff at Justice Swallow’s Mustering his Recruits; Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Sir Toby Belch, & The Clown; Dogbery and Verges with the watch; and two untitled

See also: Achim von Arnim (1781-1831). “Aus des Knaben Wunderhorn” (From the Young Boy’s Magic Horn) / [Achim von Arnim ; Clemens Brentano.] Bilder v. Berthold Löffler. Texte gesichtet v. Hans Fraungruber (Wien: Gerlach & Wiedling, [1902]). Cotsen Children’s Library (CTSN) Euro 20 901

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The Graphic Arts Collection holds a dozen postcards, both printed and hand drawn, collected by the Austrian artist and architect Josef Hoffmann (1870-1956). Some of the cards are dated 1895 or 1896, a time when Hoffmann has completed his studies under Otto Wagner at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste and joins Wagner’s architectural firm in Vienna.

The following year, in April 1897, inspired by the artists of the Glasgow School, Hoffmann is a founding member of the Vienna Secession along with Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Joseph Maria Olbrich, Max Kurzweil, Wilhelm Bernatzik, and others.

See also Marquand’s complete set of Ver sacrum: Organ der Vereinigung Bildener Künstler Österreichs (Wien: Verlag Gerlach & Schenk, 1898-1903). Marquand Library (SAX): Rare Books Oversize N6494.W5 V47q

The Graphic Arts Collection holds two Wayang Kulit, or Indonesian shadow puppets, thanks to the gift of Professor Robert Koch. They came with a small label that reads:

“A pair of Balinese shadow puppets, probably 20th century, with articulated arms, are part of a tradition of Oriental shadow theatres which began as illustrations to narration. The technique uses flat figures of a non-transparent or semi-transparent material to reflect stylized shadows against a screen; these are then moved to music or chant. The entertainment is a common diversion for the eve of a wedding.”

The Princeton Alumni Weekly posted this remembrance of Mr. Koch in 2012.

Robert Koch, professor emeritus of art at Princeton, died Nov. 10, 2011, after a lengthy illness. He was 91. In 1940 and 1942, Koch earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina. After Army service from 1942 to 1946, he earned an M.F.A. in 1949 and in 1954 a Ph.D. in art from Princeton. His career started at Princeton in 1948 as a teaching assistant, and in 1949 he became an instructor and assistant director of Princeton University Art Museum.

Koch was appointed an assistant professor of art in 1955 and in 1966 was promoted to full professor. He remained as assistant director of the art museum until 1962, and then was faculty curator of prints. He retired as professor emeritus in 1990. A scholar of Northern Renaissance art, Koch received a Fulbright grant in 1956 for study in Belgium, and in 1961 won a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies. He authored several books.

As described in PAW’s June 2, 2010, article “When Art Historians Went to War,” more than a dozen Princetonians helped locate and return Nazi-confiscated art works for the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Service. Koch was one of these “Monuments Men,” the last surviving Princetonian among them.