Details
BALDNER, Leonhard (1612-1694). Rechts natürliche Beschreibung und Abmahlung der Wasservögel, Fischen, Vierfüssigen Thier, Inseckten und Gewirm, so bey Strassburg in den Wassern seind, die ich selber geschossen und die Fisch gefangen auch alles in meiner Hand gehabt. MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER. Strasbourg: 1666 [continued to 1687].
Oblong folio (200 x 305mm), 299 leaves: including 4 blanks and 129 FULL-PAGE WATERCOLOUR DRAWINGS, comprising an armorial leaf, 61 birds, 50 fish, 4 mammals and 13 other aquatic creatures. Descriptive text in brown ink in a gothic (fraktur) hand, captions and headings in a large calligraphic script. (1 leaf of birds with its description, probably the 'Türkischer Arntvogel', has apparently been cut-out, and the last, the 'Wasserlerch' is loosely inserted without text). Contemporary paper boards, covered with vellum from a legal document (rebacked).
This is the famous book describing the natural history of water birds, fish and other animals in the region of Strasbourg, i.e. the Rhine and Robertsau. Baldner, a hunter and fisherman, had the official position as keeper of forests and rivers, 'Haagmeister und Holzwart', which allowed him to hunt and fish freely, particularly in the marshlands of the Rhine, which at that time reached right up to the walls of the city. He was also the first naturalist to describe the fauna of the Alsace region, basing his knowledge directly on the birds that he shot and the fish that he caught, and writing this entirely original work. It took him about thirty-five years to gather the material for his book. He began in about 1645, and continued until after 1680, even though he had already composed the title and preface in 1666.
The volume is divided into three parts, comprising an imaginary? armorial leaf of fish, the title and 5 pages of preface, 61 birds, the text on 91 leaves; 50 fish, the text on 46 leaves; and 62 other animals found in or near water as 'Das Buch von Vierfuessigen Thieren, Käfern Mücken und Gewürm'. This last section includes insects, frogs, snails, etc. on 17 plates and 19 text leaves. A very detailed description follows each plate, often describing where he found, shot or caught the particular animal.
Baldner seems to have produced 5 copies, including the present, of his manuscript.
1. A copy in the Public Library at Strasbourg, which was destroyed in 1870, at the time of the Franco-Prussian War. This is regarded as the copy from Baldner's own collection, apparently painted by the artist Johann Jacob Walther (1600-79), and as the present copy, had come from the library of Professor Johann Hermann. It had an inscription identical to the one in our copy, appearing to have been presented by his father to Andreas Baldner and then passed to the Hirschel family. It was then acquired by J.A.Silbermann (1712-83) and after his death by Hermann. There is of course a possibility that this early ownership inscription had been copied from the manuscript offered here, described as no.5 below.
2. A copy in the British Library, preceding all others, and dated 1653. It was sold by Baldner to the English naturalist Francis Willughby, who mentions it in his Ornithology of 1676. This copy was also illustrated by Walther.
3. A copy in the Landesbibliothek in Cassel, which had previously belonged to the Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg. It had been inherited by the Landgraf Karl von Hessen in 1686 at the death of the Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Cassel. This has always been known as the most splendid copy, made by a very accomplished artist after Baldner's original. It was published in facsimile in Stuttgart in 1973-74.
4. A copy now in the Public Library of Strasbourg, very primitively painted and containing only birds and fish. This is perhaps the copy painted by Baldner's son Andreas at the age of twelve. It was given to the library in 1880 by Professor Stromwald. Its earlier ownership is somewhat mysterious
5. The present copy is clearly the one described by Lauterborn (p.xlvii), as 'Das Strassburger Manuskript in Querfolio'.
This copy had been presented by Baldner to his son Andreas on 20 January 1687. It is inscribed on the rear pastedown "Dieses Buch hat mein Sohn Andreas Baldner im zwelfften Jahr seines Alters geschrieben und gemalt nach meinem Vogel und Fisch Buch. Darumb soll das Buch sein eigen sein. Lönhardt Baldner als Vater bekendt wie ob steht". Below is an inscription signed by Leonhard Hirschel, stating that it had been left to him by the late sister of Andreas, and that in his turn he leaves it to his son Johann Jacob Hirschel on condition that he will pass it on to his eldest son, when he takes up the fisherman's trade, and that it should forever remain in the family. "Mit dem Beding Derselb seinem eltesten Sohn, wann er Fischer ist, soll schencken und so fortan". Dated 13 May 1725. Hirschel himself was Baldner's son-in-law.
The next owner, Reinhold Spielmann (1722-83), Professor at the University of Strasbourg had acquired the manuscript from the heirs of Hirschel. Spielmann added many notes to the text, particularly the Linnean nomenclature. He also inserted 8pp "Bemerkungen über die Kranckheiten der Fische von H.Hirschel Fischläufer mitgetheilt". After his death it passed to the eminent zoologist Professor Johann Hermann (1738-1800), who inserted numerous slips of zoological notes. He inscribed his ownership on the front fly-leaf, explaining that he had acquired it from Spielmann's library. On Hermann's death, his library including the present manuscript, was presented to the Bibliothek des Naturalien-Kabinetts in Strasbourg.
It was last seen there by C.Th. von Siebold in 1860, who cites it in his Süsswasserfische von Mitteleuropa (1863) pp 33-34, noting that this manuscript is much inferior 'weit weniger sorgfältig und sauber ausgestattet sei, als das Kassler Exemplar'. It had certainly been lost by 1870.
We believe that our copy may be the original from which all other copies were made. According to Professor Hermann who had handled every copy, this in spite of its ambiguous ownership inscription, was not the copy illustrated by the twelve year old Andreas Baldner. More likely it is the copy described by Hermann as primitive, as might have been been expected from a simple fisherman "das Original von Baldners eigener Hand, welche schlecht, und man sie erwartet von einem gemeinen Mann im vorigen Jahrhundert erwarten kann". Baldner is known to have used professional artists for the splendid illustrations of the destroyed Strasbourg copy, as well as the London and Cassel copies, it seems therefore likely that the less accomplished watercolours in our volume are by Baldner himself and the source of the others. Apart from the missing two leaves of birds, the present copy is as full as the the largest, the Cassel copy, which has 63 birds, 49 fish and 17 leaves with illustrations of other animals. The neat script and calligraphy in the present copy may also be by the same hand as the Cassel copy (published in facsimile in 1974). There are numerous additions in the 1670's, but the latest entries are for the seagull 'Seemebe' in 1680 and the sturgeon 'Stör' in 1687.
Literature: Ferd. Reiber, L'Histoire Naturelle des Eaux Strasbourgeoises de Leonard Baldner. Strassburg 1888
Leonard Baldner, Das Vogel- Fisch- und Thierbuch aus dem Jahr 1666. Edited R.Lauterborn. Ludwigshafen 1903.
Both these works give a census and description of all known copies, although Reiber does not appear to know of the present manuscript.
Oblong folio (200 x 305mm), 299 leaves: including 4 blanks and 129 FULL-PAGE WATERCOLOUR DRAWINGS, comprising an armorial leaf, 61 birds, 50 fish, 4 mammals and 13 other aquatic creatures. Descriptive text in brown ink in a gothic (fraktur) hand, captions and headings in a large calligraphic script. (1 leaf of birds with its description, probably the 'Türkischer Arntvogel', has apparently been cut-out, and the last, the 'Wasserlerch' is loosely inserted without text). Contemporary paper boards, covered with vellum from a legal document (rebacked).
This is the famous book describing the natural history of water birds, fish and other animals in the region of Strasbourg, i.e. the Rhine and Robertsau. Baldner, a hunter and fisherman, had the official position as keeper of forests and rivers, 'Haagmeister und Holzwart', which allowed him to hunt and fish freely, particularly in the marshlands of the Rhine, which at that time reached right up to the walls of the city. He was also the first naturalist to describe the fauna of the Alsace region, basing his knowledge directly on the birds that he shot and the fish that he caught, and writing this entirely original work. It took him about thirty-five years to gather the material for his book. He began in about 1645, and continued until after 1680, even though he had already composed the title and preface in 1666.
The volume is divided into three parts, comprising an imaginary? armorial leaf of fish, the title and 5 pages of preface, 61 birds, the text on 91 leaves; 50 fish, the text on 46 leaves; and 62 other animals found in or near water as 'Das Buch von Vierfuessigen Thieren, Käfern Mücken und Gewürm'. This last section includes insects, frogs, snails, etc. on 17 plates and 19 text leaves. A very detailed description follows each plate, often describing where he found, shot or caught the particular animal.
Baldner seems to have produced 5 copies, including the present, of his manuscript.
1. A copy in the Public Library at Strasbourg, which was destroyed in 1870, at the time of the Franco-Prussian War. This is regarded as the copy from Baldner's own collection, apparently painted by the artist Johann Jacob Walther (1600-79), and as the present copy, had come from the library of Professor Johann Hermann. It had an inscription identical to the one in our copy, appearing to have been presented by his father to Andreas Baldner and then passed to the Hirschel family. It was then acquired by J.A.Silbermann (1712-83) and after his death by Hermann. There is of course a possibility that this early ownership inscription had been copied from the manuscript offered here, described as no.5 below.
2. A copy in the British Library, preceding all others, and dated 1653. It was sold by Baldner to the English naturalist Francis Willughby, who mentions it in his Ornithology of 1676. This copy was also illustrated by Walther.
3. A copy in the Landesbibliothek in Cassel, which had previously belonged to the Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg. It had been inherited by the Landgraf Karl von Hessen in 1686 at the death of the Princess Charlotte of Hesse-Cassel. This has always been known as the most splendid copy, made by a very accomplished artist after Baldner's original. It was published in facsimile in Stuttgart in 1973-74.
4. A copy now in the Public Library of Strasbourg, very primitively painted and containing only birds and fish. This is perhaps the copy painted by Baldner's son Andreas at the age of twelve. It was given to the library in 1880 by Professor Stromwald. Its earlier ownership is somewhat mysterious
5. The present copy is clearly the one described by Lauterborn (p.xlvii), as 'Das Strassburger Manuskript in Querfolio'.
This copy had been presented by Baldner to his son Andreas on 20 January 1687. It is inscribed on the rear pastedown "Dieses Buch hat mein Sohn Andreas Baldner im zwelfften Jahr seines Alters geschrieben und gemalt nach meinem Vogel und Fisch Buch. Darumb soll das Buch sein eigen sein. Lönhardt Baldner als Vater bekendt wie ob steht". Below is an inscription signed by Leonhard Hirschel, stating that it had been left to him by the late sister of Andreas, and that in his turn he leaves it to his son Johann Jacob Hirschel on condition that he will pass it on to his eldest son, when he takes up the fisherman's trade, and that it should forever remain in the family. "Mit dem Beding Derselb seinem eltesten Sohn, wann er Fischer ist, soll schencken und so fortan". Dated 13 May 1725. Hirschel himself was Baldner's son-in-law.
The next owner, Reinhold Spielmann (1722-83), Professor at the University of Strasbourg had acquired the manuscript from the heirs of Hirschel. Spielmann added many notes to the text, particularly the Linnean nomenclature. He also inserted 8pp "Bemerkungen über die Kranckheiten der Fische von H.Hirschel Fischläufer mitgetheilt". After his death it passed to the eminent zoologist Professor Johann Hermann (1738-1800), who inserted numerous slips of zoological notes. He inscribed his ownership on the front fly-leaf, explaining that he had acquired it from Spielmann's library. On Hermann's death, his library including the present manuscript, was presented to the Bibliothek des Naturalien-Kabinetts in Strasbourg.
It was last seen there by C.Th. von Siebold in 1860, who cites it in his Süsswasserfische von Mitteleuropa (1863) pp 33-34, noting that this manuscript is much inferior 'weit weniger sorgfältig und sauber ausgestattet sei, als das Kassler Exemplar'. It had certainly been lost by 1870.
We believe that our copy may be the original from which all other copies were made. According to Professor Hermann who had handled every copy, this in spite of its ambiguous ownership inscription, was not the copy illustrated by the twelve year old Andreas Baldner. More likely it is the copy described by Hermann as primitive, as might have been been expected from a simple fisherman "das Original von Baldners eigener Hand, welche schlecht, und man sie erwartet von einem gemeinen Mann im vorigen Jahrhundert erwarten kann". Baldner is known to have used professional artists for the splendid illustrations of the destroyed Strasbourg copy, as well as the London and Cassel copies, it seems therefore likely that the less accomplished watercolours in our volume are by Baldner himself and the source of the others. Apart from the missing two leaves of birds, the present copy is as full as the the largest, the Cassel copy, which has 63 birds, 49 fish and 17 leaves with illustrations of other animals. The neat script and calligraphy in the present copy may also be by the same hand as the Cassel copy (published in facsimile in 1974). There are numerous additions in the 1670's, but the latest entries are for the seagull 'Seemebe' in 1680 and the sturgeon 'Stör' in 1687.
Literature: Ferd. Reiber, L'Histoire Naturelle des Eaux Strasbourgeoises de Leonard Baldner. Strassburg 1888
Leonard Baldner, Das Vogel- Fisch- und Thierbuch aus dem Jahr 1666. Edited R.Lauterborn. Ludwigshafen 1903.
Both these works give a census and description of all known copies, although Reiber does not appear to know of the present manuscript.