"Hans Holbeins Totentanz" / "The Dance of Death" by Hans Holbein, high quality facsimiles of the Berlin proofs, German introduction by Dr. Jaro Springer, published by Fischer & Franke, Berlin, Germany, 1907. [The original proofs belong now to the German State Museums in Berlin.]

The monogram "HL" of the engraver of Holbein's "Dance of Death," Hans Lutzelburger can be found in the print "Die Herzogin." Lutzelburger died in 1526, therefore the proofs were created before that date. After his death, the investors who ordered the woodcuts, brothers Melchior and Gaspar Trechsel in Lyon, successfully claimed and received rights on the woodblocks. They published entire series under the title "Les simulacres et historiees faces de la mort" in 1538. [Reference: Die Bilder des Todes, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett].

Plain hard boards with lettering on the front board. The boards are protected in clear mylar jacket; 5.1/2" x 7.1/2"; List of 40 plates [in German]; 8-page Introduction in German, 40 facsimile prints [ 6.6 x 4.9 cm] printed on one side only [versos are blank]; nice brownish colored paper, very good condition.

Holbein's "Dance of Death" came to define the genre - so in a way Holbein meant the end of "the real" dances of death. So Holbein altered the Dance of Death into a sequence of everyday scenes where Death is about to catch the humans - who are often at the peak of their careers.

The drawings depict the bitterness of the Peasants' War and 'Death' as the harvester of men and the final proof of their equality. Holbein was not the first artist to produce an illustrated book but his work is representative of some of the finest of the period. Aside from its value as pure entertainment Holbein's work is responsible for our understanding of the physical characteristics of Henrician era.

With the development of his art the Dance of Death naturally became a popular theme for the engraver. Many such prints were produced by various German artists, but the most famous version is that of the younger Holbein, issued in 1538 by the brothers Trechsel at Lyons. It appears to be clear from the researches of Wornum and Woltmann, of Paul Mantz, of W.J. Linton, the Rev. G. Davies, C. Dodgson, and others, that the drawings were undoubtedly the work of Hans Holbein the younger, who was resident in Basle up to the autumn of 1526, before which time the drawings must have been produced. They were distinctly in his manner and of extraordinarily high merit.

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