In’s Graavenhaage, By Arnold Leers, Boeckverkooper, 1691.
Folio [374 x 250 mm] of (7) ll. including 1 engraved frontispiece and 1 portrait, 127 pp., 14 out-of-text engraved plates of which 11 on double-page and 3 on full page. Full ivory vellum, smooth spine with handwritten title, sprinkled edges. Contemporary binding.
First edition of one of the most beautiful Dutch festival books of the Baroque period.
It celebrates the joyous entry of Guillaume iii into the Hague as king of Great Britain.
Berlin Kat. 2952 ; Landwehr, Cérémonies splendides 146 ; Ruggieri 1095 ; Vinet 752 ; Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish, IX, 168-85.
It was the “costliest and most elaborate public display ever held on Dutch soil” (Nierop) and the first time of a triumphal entry since the rebellion against Spain.
The two directors of the festivities were Govert Bidloo (1649-1713), William’s personal physician, and Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708), one of the greatest artists of the Dutch Golden Age.
De Hooghe was not only involved in drawing up the programme for the festivities, but also in engraving the magnificent plates illustrating this commemorative volume.
Superb illustration, in first issue, comprising a portrait of Guillaume III by Pieter van Gunst after John Brandon and 15 out-of-text engraved plates by Romeyn de Hooghe captioned in French and Dutch, of which 11 are on double page and 3 are full page.
The engravings by Romeyn de Hooghe show the procession, the triumphal arches, the Vyverberg and the Binnenhof, the decorations specially made for the event, including painting and sculpture, and a spectacular fireworks display:
1. Aenkomst van S.K. Maj. Op Honslerdyk – Arrivée de Sa Majesté a Honslerdyk
2. Inhaling van S.K. Maj. Aende Westeynder brug – Réception de Sa Majesté au pont de Westeinde
3. Zijn Majesteit verwelkomt op het Binnehof – Réception de Sa Majesté dans La Cour
4. Vreugde-en eereteekenen voor het stadhuis – Illuminations et autres marques d’honneur de la Maison de Ville
5. Eeerepoort op de markt – Arc de Triomphe sur le Marché
6. Eeerepoort op de markt – Arc de Triomphe sur le Marché
7. Schilderyen binnen de eerepoort – Peintures du dedans de l’Arc de Triomphe sur la Place et du Costé du Vizier
8. Intrede van Zyn Majesteit door de zeegeboog voor’t Hof – Entrée de Sa Majesté par dessous l’Arc de Triomphe qui est devant la cour.
9. Zeege- en eerepoorten voor het hof – Arc de Triomphe devant La Cour
10. Beelden, devisen, schilderyen – Statues, Devises, Peintures
11. Zyschilderyen der zeege-en eerepoorten voor, het Hot – Peintures des bouts de l’Arc de Triomphe devant la cour.
12. Schilderyen binne de zeege-en eerepoorten voor het hof – Peintures du dedans de l’Arc de Triomphe qui est devant La Cour
13. Vuurwerk in de vyver – Feu d’artifice au Vyver
14. Verbeeldingen der twee naalden
Precious copy preserved in its contemporary vellum binding.
