Residences Memorable De l'incomparable Heros de nôtre Siecle ou Representation exacte des Edifices et Jardins de Son Altesse Serenissime Monseigneur Le Prince Eugene Francois Duc de Savoye et de Piemont...[bound with:] Representation Des Animaux de la Menagerie de S. A. S. Monseigneur le Prince Eugene Francois de Savoye et de Piemont..

Augsburg: Heirs of Jeremias Wolff, 1740. Folio. (12 9/10 x 19 4/5 inches). First edition. 2 works bound in one volume. 11 engraved calligraphic title pages in French and German (10 in first work, one in second), text in French and German, one engraved dedication leaf at beginning of first work, 102 fine engraved plates after Kleiner, 90 in the first work with 9 folding and 12 in the second work. Late nineteenth-century brown half Morocco over wood-grained paper boards, gilt-framed spine compartments.

First edition with 102 fine plates of a masterpiece of Baroque architecture: the Belvedere Palace and Gardens in Vienna, brought to life by Salomon Kleiner's unequaled engravings. Together with the wonderful illustrations of the Prince's menagerie.

These fine engravings depict a masterpiece of Baroque architecture: the Belvedere Palace and Gardens in Vienna, summer home of Prince Eugene of Savoy. The masterwork of architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, Belvedere is displayed here in all its glory, in artist Salomon Kleiner's detailed engravings of the exterior, the garden, and the many splendid rooms. The second work is a charming view of the Prince's menagerie, filled with exotic animals and plants. Born into a noble French family--and rumored to be the illegitimate son of Louis XIV-- Eugene (1663-1736) was thwarted in his military ambitions by the Sun King's disfavor. Consequently, he moved to Austria and offered his services to the Holy Roman Emperor. He became Field Marshal of the Austrian army and teacher of Frederick the Great. The rewards Eugene received for his military success enabled him to become a patron of Baroque architecture; the Belvedere, planned and constructed by the most distinguished architects, engineers, landscapers, and decorators, was the grandest of his residences, and a worthy rival to his nemesis Louis XIV's Versailles. Kleiner's scenes show the beautiful palace and grounds enlivened by fashionable figures of the sort Prince Eugene entertained at his many hunting parties. This delightful menagerie established in 1717 comes to life in Kleiner's engravings, which depict chatty parrots, stately elk, exotic birds, mischievous apes, and a regal and rather disdainful lion.

Berlin Katalog 2117. Brunet III.674. Goldschmidt, XX.8.24. Graesse IV, 28. Jessen 1060. Lewine, p. 263. Lipperheide 686. MMA Bulletin, 1929.XXIV, pp.322-326. Nissen ZBI 2212 (second work only). S.K.B. 2117. Univ. Cat. I.999.