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Hesse Darmstadt, Philip the Magnanimous Order, Plate XLIV, Wood Engraving, 1844
$275
€245 · £210
Original print, not a reproduction.
Ships worldwide from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked. 14-day returns.
- Date
- 1844
- Technique
- Wood Engraving
- Coloring
- Hand colored
- Condition
- Good. Light handling wear to the bottom right and top left corners; minor nicks along the left edge. Light, uneven toning, slightly darker toward the edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin.
- Collection
- Uniforms & regiments
- Era
- 1816 to 1899, Empire and industry
- Stock no.
- BG-13055-51
What the condition grades mean
- Excellent
- Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
- Very good
- Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
- Good
- Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
- Fair
- Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
This original antique wood engraving, colored by hand, shows insignia of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. At upper left (6) is a breast star of silver and pale blue rays, its blue center showing a standing man in a brown cloak with a staff, within a gold-lettered ring. At upper right (8) is a pale blue cross with pearled edges and the same figure in a beaded gold oval. Lower left (7) is the badge: a white-enameled cross edged in gold, its oval center again showing the cloaked figure and lettered ring, on a red ribbon edged in blue; below it is the oval reverse with a crowned lion barred in red and white on blue. Lower right (9) is a bronze medal with a crowned L in a wreath above a short inscription, on a red ribbon striped in white.
The running head at upper left reads "HESSE GRAND-DUCALE." (Grand Ducal Hesse) and the plate number at upper right "XLIV."; the items are numbered 6 to 9. The ring of star 6 reads "SI DEUS NOBIS CUM-QUIS CONTRA NOS", Latin for "if God is with us, who is against us", the motto of the Order of Philip the Magnanimous, and the reverse of badge 7 reads "LUDOVICUS II. MAGN. DUX HASSIÆ INSTIT." (instituted by Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse). The medal 9 inscription includes the date "14 JUNI".
The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published by Auguste Wahlen in Brussels by the Librairie Historique-Artistique, rue de Schaerbeek, 12, in 1844; the half title reads Histoire, costumes, décorations de tous les ordres de chevalerie, et marques d'honneur. Auguste Wahlen was the pen name of the Belgian writer Jean-François-Nicolas Loumyer (1801 to 1875), and the title page lists his own knighthoods in the orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil. The illustrations are relief prints, wood engravings colored by hand with watercolor.
The cloaked figure at the center gives the plate a quiet, almost portrait-like character.
Condition: Light handling wear to the bottom right and top left corners; minor nicks along the left edge. Light, uneven toning, slightly darker toward the edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
