Friedrich Johann Justin Bertuch (1747-1822)

VIEWS OF CAPE TOWN AND ALGIERS FROM THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BILDERBUCH FÜR KINDER

Weimar / Gotha, 1790–1830
Two originally coloured copperplates on paper, similar dimensions c. 18,3x23 cm, marked "Verm. Gegenst. CCXXIX / CCXXV. Miscellanea. CCXXIX / CCXXV. Melanges. CCXXIX / CCXXV." and "XVII. B. 35. / XVII. B. 15.". Between 1790 and 1830, a total of 12 volumes of the children`s encyclopedia were published by Bertuch in the cities of Weimar and Gotha. The encyclopedia contained 1185 illustrated plates with approximately 6000 images. Johann Heinrich Lips and his students from the Weimar drawing school were involved in the creation of the illustrations and engravings. Each individual illustration, hand-colored, was accompanied by a brief commentary originally in German and French, later also in other languages. The popularity of Bilderbuch, published in an edition of 3000 copies, is evidenced by the number of reprints. From 1801, it began to be published under the modified title Bilderbuch zum Nutzen und Vergnügen der Jugend by Anton Pichler in Vienna, and from 1806 it was published by Petr Bohmann in Rumburk and later in Prague. The individual volumes featured images from 14 thematic groups: 1. quadrupeds, 2. birds, 3. fish, 4. insects, 5. plants, 6. people and costumes, 7. worms, 8. shells, 9. corals, 10. amphibians, 11. minerals, 12. architecture, 13. ancient monuments, and 14. miscellaneous (Miscellanea). Lit.: Jan Kozák, Radim Vondráček, Friedrich Justin Bertuch. Rozvoj vzdělání v zaalpské střední Evropě na přelomu 18. a 19. století, Vesmír 91, 579, 2012/10.