Thursday, November 06, 2014

Schönschreibmeister

A Calligraphy Master's Album


FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. a



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. c



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. f



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. i



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. k



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. b



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. j (cropped)



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. m



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. n



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. h



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. d



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent.



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. g



FJ Brechtel calligraphy 16th cent. l



'Werke der Schönschreibmeister' by FH Brechtel (1573) is available from Bamberg State Library in Germany.

The 24 page paper manuscript is dominated by Middle German blackletter scripts with extravagant embellishment, and a minority of the pages contain 'less' ornamental writing in Latin.

The manuscript appears to be a compilation of calligraphic examples by one of the originators of early fraktur^ scripts, Johann Neudörffer the Elder, to whom this album is dedicated. The manuscript's title - something like: The Beautiful Works of the Master Scribes - is also suggestive of Brechtel having assembled a set of Neudörffer's calligraphy output, rather than his presenting an adaptation or transformation from the originals. [Later: I'm informed the title is plural, meaning Master Scribes or similar; so we might presume the album script examples come from a variety of sources beyond simply Neudörffer']

Neudörffer was an important educator and he published text books in Nuremberg on writing which dominated teaching curriculums for a couple of centuries; and his calligraphy endeavours were similarly admired. Neudörffer is also honoured as the first biographical historian of German artists, though his 'Nachrichten' (1547) wasn't published until the 1800s. He was lucky enough to have counted Albrecht Dürer as a friend and neighbour!

There is not a lot of information about Franz Joachim Brechtel (that I can find) online. It would appear that his main claim to fame and employment stems from music sheets that he printed. I'm unsure whether he was the composer or simply the designer/publisher of the sheet music. In either case, his name is associated today with more than a hundred pieces of music that I - just - randomly found on the internet (so a role as composer seems more likely, though I didn't dig into it).

  • Neudörfer (or Neudörffer), Johannes (i.e., Johann), der Ältere at the Dictionary of Art Historians.
  • Brechtel at Musicalis.
  • 'Lied und Liederbuch in der Frühen Neuzeit' 2009 by A Classen and L Richter features some biographical commentary on Franz Brechtel - (snippets)
  • ADDIT: go see Thony's very interesting post at The Renaissance Mathematicus wherein he expounds greatly on the printing scene in Nuremberg in the 15th/16th centuries.
  • Thanks Jeanne!
  • Previously (specifically) on BibliOdyssey: Nuremberg Scribe features elaborate scripts produced by Stephan Brechtel - likely a brother of Franz - and there's a link in there to a post on the Brechtel family of calligraphers 
  • Previously on BiblOdyssey: the many posts under the tag of calligraphy.
  • The Schönschreibmeister post first appeared on the BibliOdyssey website.

Sunday, November 02, 2014

Folies Bergère

Advertising posters for music-hall cabaret
shows in Paris in the late 19th century



19th cent. french music-hall poster called: Tous les soirs, Thaumaturgie humoristique
Title: Folies-Bergère, tous les soirs, Thaumaturgie humoristique par le Comte Patrizio de Castiglione
Artist: Jules Chéret
Date: 1875


19th cent. french music-hall poster of chimney sweeps
Title: Folies-Bergère...Les Prices, ramoneurs musicaux...
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1890



19th cent. french music-hall poster - girl on fire!
Title: Folies-Bergère. La danse du feu [La Loïe Fuller]
Artist: Jules Chéret
Date: 1897



19th cent. french music-hall poster - boxing kangaroo
Title: Folies-Bergère. Le plus nouveau spectacle. Le kangourou boxeur
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1895



19th cent. french music-hall poster
Title: Folies-Bergère...Tous les soirs... original's... Huline Brother's
Artist: Charles Levy
Date: 1888



19th cent. french music-hall poster
Title: Folies-Bergère. Le Capitaine Costentenus
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1895



19th cent. french music-hall poster - family of bicycle trick riders
Title: Folies-Bergère. Les Selbinis, famille de vélocipédistes
Artist: F Appel
Date: 1887



19th cent. french music-hall poster - an elephant act
Title: Folies-Bergère, tous les soirs G. Lockart et ses éléphants
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1890



19th cent. french music-hall poster - sinister figure from Paganini
Title: Folies Bergère : le Spectre de Paganini
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1880



19th cent. french music-hall poster
Title: Folies-Bergère. Tous les soirs la famille birmane...
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1890



19th cent. french music-hall poster
Title: Tous les soirs à 8 heures. Folies Bergère, 32 rue Richer. O. Metra. Travaux de voltige, ballets, pantomimes, opérettes...
Artist: Jules Chéret
Date: 1875



Les Griffith's Grand Succes
Title: Folies-Bergère...Les Griffith's...
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1890



Lona Barrison
Title: Folies-Bergères. Lona Barrison
Artist: Albert Guillaume
Date: 1897



Tous les soirs à 10 heures
Title: Folies-Bergère. Tous les soirs à 10 heures, (trapéziste sur un taureau)
Artist: Emile Levy
Date: 1885



Les Trevally acrobates
Title: Folies-Bergère. Les Trevally acrobates tous les soirs
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1890



L'orchestre des éléphants
Title: Folies Bergère tous les soirs... l'orchestre des éléphants de Sam Lockart
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1890



Les Chiens Sauteurs-------
Title: Folies Bergère. Les Chiens sauteurs...
Artist: Ateliers Chéret
Date: 1890



Nala Damajanti charmeuse hindoue
Title: Folies-Bergère. Nala Damajanti charmeuse hindoue
Artist: F Appel (lithographer)
Date: 1895

"The Folies Bergère is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Established in 1869, the house was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s' Belle Époque through the 1920s' Années folles. The institution is still in business, and is always a strong symbol of French and Parisian life." [W]

 
Creative Commons License