Beschreibung:

NATURE PRINTING -- Alois AUER von Welsbach (1813-1869). Die Entdeckung des Naturselbstdruckes.... The discovery of the Natural Printing-Process. Vienna: kaiserlich-königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1854. 3 parts in one volume, large 4° (335 x 253mm). Titles and text in German, English, Italian and French. 19 nature-printed plates, one double-page, 4 leaves of lithographic facsimile manuscript at back. (Plates spotted, some dampstaining to lower margins.) Contemporary red half morocco, spine gilt, titled 'Specimens of Phytoglyphy' in gilt on upper cover (neatly rebacked to style, inner hinges neatly repaired). AN IMPORTANT NATURE-PRINTED WORK, INCLUDING A WIDE RANGE OF SUBJECT MATTER AMONG THE 19 PLATES, AND A FULL, IF BIASED, ACCOUNT OF THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE INVENTION OF THE PROCESS. The subjects of the plates include a fossil fish, printed in black, geological samples, printed in black (2), lace, printed in blue or black, 8 samples printed on 4 leaves, one of these double-page, botanical samples, printed in green and up to 3 other colours, 27 printed on 10 leaves, a snake-skin printed in brown and a bat's wing printed in black. The second and third parts ( Debates of the right of property with new inventions and Conduct of a young Englishman named Henry Bradbury ) deal in some detail with the respective claims of Henry Bradbury and Professor Theile. Fischer 40; Bigmore & Wyman p.23; cf. R. Cave & G. Wakeman Typographia naturalis , 1967, pp.20-27; Friedman 162. A. AUER. Die Die Entdeckung des Naturselbstdruckes.... The discovery of the Natural Printing-Process. Vienna: kaiserl.königl. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1853. 2 parts in one volume, 8° (223 x 143mm). Titles and text in German, English, Italian and French. Contemporary green morocco, tooled in gilt and blind, gilt turn-ins, g.e. (light scuffing to extremities). Provenance : Fonseca Magalhães (Portugal, crowned blindstamp on first title). In a note added to the description of his number 39, Fischer mentions the publication of this work 'in einem Bande, 8°, 1853'. He goes on to say that some copies sent to learned institutions were accompanied by a portfolio of folio format plates. No details of the contents of this portfolio are given but the collection of plates described below may well represent some or all of these early examples of the new process. [Alois AUER] - KAISERLICH-KÖNIGLICHEN HOF- UND STAATSDRUCKEREI (printers). A portfolio of nature-printed plates. Vienna: 1853. 2° (573 x 405mm). 22 nature-printed plates on 21 leaves. (Some light spotting). Unbound as issued within modern blue cloth portfolio, titled 'Auer - Naturselbstdrucke' on blue morocco lettering-piece on spine. A fine collection, all of botanical specimens. Titled in letterpress 'Naturselbstdruck' and with imprint dated 1853 at the foot of each leaf. The majority printed in two or more colours. With three other plates from the same press, all dated 1853, but probably from other works, and an original copper plate (318 x 245mm) bearing the positive image of five leaves. Possibly, this plate was used to produce the negative-image printing plates. A. AUER. Der polygraphische Apparat oder die verschiedenen Kunstfächer der k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei zu Wien... I. und II. Vortrag. Vienna: 1853. 8° (242 x 154mm). Engraved frontispiece printed in two colours with integral portrait bust printed in semi-relief in blind, 27 leaves of plates (?only), 1 printed recto and verso, one double-page including 2 mounted photographs, 5 nature-printed plates, 3 tinted lithographs, 3 wood-engravings and 1 double-page plate of type specimens of unusual alphabets including a section of lettering and music for the blind printed in semi-relief in blind. (Double-page plate split in half at fold, some spotting.) Later wrapper (section of original wrapper mounted on upper cover, stitching broken). The printing methods demonstrated and described include 'Photographie, Mikrotypie, Lithographie, Chemitypie, Chalko