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Works WILLIAM UNGER c1870 72 Original Etchings

Title: Works of William Unger: A Series of Seventy Etchings After the Old Masters
Publisher: J. W. Bouton
Printing Year: c1870

Condition/Details: This elephant folio contains seventy wonderful etchings executed by William Unger after the designs of many Old Master artists, including Rembrandt, Jan Steen, van Ostade, van Dijk, and Tintoretto. Each original etching was executed on fine sheets of various dimensions which are tipped into larger, heavier folio pages.

The long-lived William Unger is important not only as an etcher but as an influential scholar and teacher. Serving as professor of graphic arts at the Vienna Academy he taught etching techniques to many of the finest Austrian, German and French artists of the early twentieth century. He was also a founder of Zeitschrift fur Bildendekunst (1866), an important journal which promoted etching, engraving and lithography. Unger's autobiography, Aus meinen leben, was published in Vienna in 1928. William Unger began his formal art studies in 1854 as a student of Joseph Keller, in Dusseldorf. He then finished his studies at the Academy in Leipzig. During his successful career as an etcher Unger received numerous awards including medals from expositions in Paris (1878), Vienna (1888) and Berlin (1891). Unger became most famous for his etchings after the paintings of both old masters and contemporary artists, and these reproductive works occupied most of his career. (Courtesy artoftheprint.com)

This disbound collection of prints shows beautifully, with the prints well-preserved and often accompanied by an original tissue guard. The impressions are strong and clear, and the tipped-in sheets generally show very minimal signs of age or wear. Many are signed in the plate. The folio sheets show mild to moderate age toning, and many are accompanied by typewritten descriptions paper-clipped onto the margins. The title page shows advanced age indications with marginal tearing, moderate toning and a library blindstamp. The detached rear board is included. The book measures approximately 16" x 23". Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $20.50