Ein gute Ordnung, und kurtze unterricht, der fürnemsten gründe, aus denen die Jungen, zierlichs schreybens begirlich, mit besonderer kunst und behendigkeyt unterricht und geübt möge werden.

Small 4to oblong: 111 copper plates, 13 x 20/21 cm, except 8 folding of 11 x 33 cm, some dated and with monograms.

17th-c. half vellum dyed in red, mottled paper boards, spine on raised bands, red sprinkled edges (small wear, upper joint split). Good copy with wide margins.

Rare calligraphic model book. Our copy is composed of 66 plates on laid paper of which 45 are also printed in mirror-image, making a total of 111 plates. The number of plates may change from one copy to another as Neudörffer added etchings over the years, assisted by his son in the end (we have a plate dated from 1543). The plates were occasionally printed in red, which is not the case here. The etchings show models of alphabets and texts in gothic script (incl. Biblical verses, general educational statements and proverbs), mostly in German, but for 3 of them in Latin. Neudörffer (1497-1563), a teacher of mathematics and calligraphy, played a great part in the developing of the Fraktur. He founded his writing school in Nürnberg. Copy with 16 additional pages with manuscript writing exercises (alphabet and text in German, Latin and French) by Hans Jacot, dated 12 March 1590. Ref. Bonacini 1279 (folio oblong). - VD-16 N-563 (mentions 64 lvs). - Naegler III:1283. - Not in Berlin Kat., Adams.