SCHWARZENBERG, Pauline von (1774-1810). Seize vues des terres en Bohème du Prince de Schwarzenberg. Vienna, 1804. [BOUND WITH:]II Cahier des vues de Bohème. Paris, 1805.

Rare series of etchings by one of the great salonistes and patrons of the arts of her day.Presentation copy to George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke (1759-1827). A member of the House of Arenberg, Pauline married Joseph II, 6th Prince of Schwarzenberg in 1794 and studied under court painter Ferdinand Runk (1764-1834). Pauline’s charming etchings of Bohemian landscapes were issued in two series: 16 etchings printed in Vienna in 1804, followed by 15 etchings printed in Paris in 1805 (Lenderová, p. 395). Pauline is unfortunately best remembered for her tragic death on July 1, 1810, when she was burned alive in a fire at the Austrian embassy in Paris during a ball organized by her brother-in-law, the Austrian ambassador Karl Prince von Schwarzenberg, to celebrate the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise. The poorly equipped firemen of Paris were not able to control the blaze, which killed Pauline and a dozen other guests. Napoleon himself wrote a report of the disaster and issued a decree reorganizing Parisian firemen and granting them military status. See Milena Lenderová, “Une femme de deux espaces: Pauline de Schwarzenberg,” Revue des Études Slaves78-4 (2007), pp. 389-396.

Oblong quarto (325 x 230mm). Two engraved titles, 16 and 15 engraved plates (light spotting on most plates). Contemporary red straight-grain morocco gilt, upper cover gilt-lettered (spine and edge wear).

Please note the binding on this work has been skillfully rebacked and restored, preserving much of the original morocco.