Recueil d'estampes d'après les plus celebres tableaux de la Galerie Royale de Dresde. 3 in 2 vols. With 3 engr. portrait frontispieces, 3 engr. title vignettes (1 rep.), 3 text vignettes, 3 engr. plans and 150 (... double page) copper plates. Dresden 1753 and (vol. III:) Leipzig, Giesecke & Devreient no date [around 1860]. Contemp red morocco with floral and ornamental gilt spine, quadruple gilt-tooled fillets with small corner fleurons, rich gilt inside borders as well as gilt edges and green contemp. half morocco with broad calf corners, ornamental gilt spine and gilt-tooled title on boards. Imperila folio. 2 ll., XXVII; XXIII pp.; 1 l., XII pp.

Complete first edition of this splendid work with illustrations of paintings in the Dresden Gallery, a one-of-a-kind for its high-quality texts and illustrations. Together with the later published third volume it is extremely rare . This third vol. was presumably published in connection with the Leipzig reprints (around 1860), and comprises engravings made between 1780 and 1870. This volume is hard to find in complete. - The first two vols. of this monumental work were published by the then director of the gallery K. H. von Heineken (1707-91). The elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony asked Heineken for assistance in the acquisition of new paintings, because of his expertise, he also commissioned him to extend and reorganize the collection, eventually, he put him in charge of the gallery. "In 1748 Heineken decided to publish the paintings ion a gallery work, so he commissioned 8 drawers and 40 engravers for the execution of this splendid private print comprising 106 sheets, he contributed a short description" (NDB VIII, 298). - The fine coppers show mythological, biblical, historical and genre scenes, as well as a coupe of portraits. Models for the engravings were paintings by Holbein, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Tintoretto, Canale, Correggio, Calabrese, A. van Dyck, Veronese, L. de Silvestre, Tizian, A. Carracci, Ribera, Jordan, A. Kaufmann, A. R. Mengs, J. Ruysdael, Velasquez and many more. Among the engravers were P. A. Kilian, with many coppers, as well as J. M. Preisler, J. F. Beauvarlet, J. Folkema, F. Basari, J. Camerata, P. E. Moitte, M. Keyl, F. Basan, J. Daulle, Th. Langer, C. G. Rasp etc. - Printed on strong paper, vol. III on slightly different paper. Plates in vol. III additionally with protective sheets. - Text slightly browned in places, vol. III somewhat waterstained in places (particularly in lower corners). Bindings somewhatz scraped (particularly in edges), spine end of vol. I with small blemishes.

CohenRicci Sp. 423. - Graesse III, 11. - Thieme/B. XVIII, 189 (under Hutin).