1578 Johannes Stradanus Book of Prints
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GUEST:
Well, I got it through my husband's family. He got it from his aunt, and I was very interested to learn it was originally Dutch because the family was originally Dutch, so that made it extra special.
APPRAISER:
I'll tell you a little bit about it, Jane. You mentioned Italian... you thought possibly when you came in.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Because of the Latin text below. It's a book done by a well-known Flemish artist named Johannes Stradanus. He's an interesting character. His Dutch name was Van der Straet. So, your instinct was right, the Latin name and the Latin below, would make you think of Italy. He was born in Bruges. He moved down to Italy in the 1550s, he was born in 1523, and he worked with the famous art historian Vasari. And he worked on some very large and important commissions of tapestries. And the tapestries he designed were often filled with hunting scenes, fishing scenes, fowl scenes, and this is what you have here. And he became very well known for that. He studied with some very important Italian mannerists. He did some work for Cosimo de Medici's palaces. So, he spent most of his working career in Italy. So you were not far off. And you mentioned earlier that the landscapes didn't look very Dutch to you. And for people who have been in Holland would know, that it does not look like a Dutch landscape at all.
GUEST:
No, no.
APPRAISER:
But, in fact, it is very Italianate in style. The book is very rare. His artwork is very rare. There's 104 of these wonderful engravings, fine quality. It's the first edition, which was published in Antwerp in 1578. And these don't come up every day. Let me tell you, Jane, this book, were it to come up at auction, we would safely put an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000 on it.
GUEST:
You're kidding. I hear them say "You're kidding" all the time on the program.
APPRAISER:
We're not kidding.
GUEST:
You're kidding!
APPRAISER:
We don't kid you. This is really...
GUEST:
That's amazing.
APPRAISER:
...an unbelievably rare book. You've got a real treasure on your hands. And thank you for bringing it in, we appreciate it.
GUEST:
Thank you so much. Thank you.
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