INN VALLEY AUSTRIA 1594 BRAUN & HOGENBERG UNUSUAL ANTIQUE COPPER ENGRAVED VIEW

Prospectus amoeniss. vallis Oeniponticae una cum antro in altissima et praeruptissima rupe Imp. Maximiliani primi. 

                                                                                               Description: Striking and highly detailed fine unusual copper engraved map featuring a panoramic view of the Inn Valley, Austria.

CAPTION: Prospect of the delightful Innsbruck Valley, together with the cave of Emperor Maximilian I on the very high and steep cliff.
 
CARTOUCHE BOTTOM RIGHT: Both noble rulers, the brothers Emperor Charles V, who came from Spain and Italy after his imperial coronation, and Ferdinand, King of Hungary and Bohemia, who came from Pannonia, were showered with the highest honours amongst mortals, with kingdoms and triumphs and met in this place and sound in 1530 to the general joy, after not having seen each other for eight years.
 
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "Those coming from Germany over the rugged cliffs of the Alps, passing through the deep and precipitous valleys and also along the pleasant Innsbruck and Tyrolean roads, will see a great many castles along the way and often herds of chamois on the rocky pinnacles, who leap to and fro high up on the rock face almost like light birds."
 
The view presents the Inn Valley, a glacial valley that traverses the eastern Alps through which the river of the same name flows. The top illustration is seen from Völs, looking down upon Kematen (E) and Perfuss on the left-hand side of the valley and the right Zirl (B), with the ruins of Fragenstein (C) perched above it. The rock wall in the right half of the picture is the Martinswand, with the former fortress of Martinsklause (F) at its foot. The Martinswand wall, several hundred metres high, marks the end of the Hechenberg massif, part of the Nordkette range in the Karwendel Mountains. A cave in the rock face is known as the Kaiser Max Grotto (G), as Emperor Maximilian I took refuge in it when he got lost while hunting chamois, sheltering there until a peasant boy found him.

Date: 1594 ( dated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 52,6 x 22,8

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Paper with chains. Plate original colored. Good margins. Small foxing and browning. Plate folded. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Mapmakers: Georg Braun (also Brunus, Bruin; 1541 – 10 March 1622) was a topo-geographer. From 1572 to 1617 he edited the Civitates orbis terrarum, which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views and maps of cities from all around the world. He was the principal editor of the work, he acquired the tables, hired the artists, and wrote the texts. He died as an octogenarian in 1622, as the only survivor of the original team to witness the publication of volume VI in 1617.
 
Braun was born and died in Cologne. His principal profession was as a Catholic cleric, however, he spent thirty-seven years as canon and dean at the church, St. Maria ad Gradus, in Cologne. His six-volume work was inspired by Sebastian Münster's Cosmographia. In form and layout it resembles the 1570 Theatrum orbis terrarum by Abraham Ortelius, as Ortelius was interested in a complementary companion for the Theatrum.
 
The Braun publication set new standards in cartography for over 100 years. Frans Hogenberg (1535–1590, from Mechelen) created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel created those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were Joris Hoefnagel, Jacob Hoefnagel, cartographer Daniel Freese, and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Primarily European cities are depicted in the publication; however, Casablanca and Mexico City/Cuzco on one sheet[4] are also included in volume I.
 
Frans Hogenberg (1535–1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker.
 
Hogenberg was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He is known for portraits and topographical views as well as historical allegories. He also produced scenes of contemporary historical events.
 
Hogenberg died in Cologne.