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Details
BRÜHL, Graf Heinrich von (1700-1763) -- Catalogus Bibliothecae Bruhlianae. Dresden: Privately Printed for Count Brühl by the Widow Harpeter (I & II), and by Hagenmuller (IV), 1750-1756.
Volumes I, II, & IV (of 4 only), 2o (304 x 187 mm.) Large engraved coat-of-arms on titles on first page of each volume a large allegorical headpiece, on the last page an engraved vignette, engraved by Lorenzo Zucchi after Stefano Torrelli. Volumes I and II in contemporary red morocco, richly gilt borders on sides, 6 raised bands on spines, the compartments richly gilt, in the second and third blue morocco labels with titles and volume number, gilt edges, presumably in a Dresden presentation binding (some wear to lower cover of vol. II), volume IV contemporary calf (rebacked). Provenance: Vols I & II: Ochsenhausen, Benedictine Abbey (small stamp on title).
"This catalogue, which was made for the owner Heinrich Brühl, was given away to friends, and scholars and was not sold. The books passed ultimately into the Dresden library. The stock of the catalogue was destroyed in a fire and volume IV is especially rare. The library was a remarkable collection of historical writings" (Taylor). It contained approximately 62,000 volumes, and was the largest private library in the German-speaking countries. Among its librarians were Karl Heinrich von Heine(c)ken (1707-1791), later renowned as ennobled art historian and collector, and Christian Gottlob Heyne (1729-1812), classical philologist, later librarian and professor at Göttingen. Brühl, Prime Minister of Saxony under the son of Augustus the Strong, was one of the most disastrous German statesmen of his time: had a strong influence on politics his policies led to the Seven Years' War and the near-destruction of the Electorate of Saxony; his predatory love of possessions, his indulgence in luxuries, his embezzlement of public funds earned him the outrage of his contemporaries. Taylor, p. 234. (2)
Volumes I, II, & IV (of 4 only), 2
"This catalogue, which was made for the owner Heinrich Brühl, was given away to friends, and scholars and was not sold. The books passed ultimately into the Dresden library. The stock of the catalogue was destroyed in a fire and volume IV is especially rare. The library was a remarkable collection of historical writings" (Taylor). It contained approximately 62,000 volumes, and was the largest private library in the German-speaking countries. Among its librarians were Karl Heinrich von Heine(c)ken (1707-1791), later renowned as ennobled art historian and collector, and Christian Gottlob Heyne (1729-1812), classical philologist, later librarian and professor at Göttingen. Brühl, Prime Minister of Saxony under the son of Augustus the Strong, was one of the most disastrous German statesmen of his time: had a strong influence on politics his policies led to the Seven Years' War and the near-destruction of the Electorate of Saxony; his predatory love of possessions, his indulgence in luxuries, his embezzlement of public funds earned him the outrage of his contemporaries. Taylor, p. 234. (2)