HEYNS, Zacharias.
Const-thoonende juweel by de loflijcke stadt Haerlem, ten versoecke van trou moet blijcken, in't licht gebracht. Waer inne duydelick verclaert ende verthoont wordt alles wat den mensche mach wecken om den armen te troosten, ende zijnen naesten by te staen. In twaelf spelen van sinne, so veel intreden, refreynen ende liedekens ghestelt in redenrijck naer de volgende voorgegevene caerte van 't speel-korenken.
Zwolle, Zacharias Heyns, 1607. With large emblematic device with the coat of arms of Haarlem on title-page, 2 full-page engravings of raised-platform stages, 13 full-page engraved emblematic devices of the chambers of rhetoric (most including 1 or 2 coats of arms), 13 pages of songs with letterpress music notes, and 13 large folding oblong plates on 2 or more sheets depicting the festive entree of each group of actors from the competing chambers of rhetoric.
(2) [RHETORICIANS - REDERIJKERS - HAARLEM]. Haerlems juweel, tot nut vande oude arme uyt liefden ten thoon ghestelt nae de voorgegevene caerte vant speelcorenken.
Zwolle, Zacharias Heyns, 1608. With a large engraving on title-page, repeated from the first work, a full-page engraved emblematic device of the Flemish chamber of rhetoric, "Het Wit Angelierken" from Haarlem, and large folding oblong plate on 3 sheets depicting the festive entree of the actors of the Flemish chamber of rhetoric. 4to. 2 works in 1 volume. Contemporary vellum. [266]; 12 ll.
€ 8,500
Very rare complete and beautifully illustrated account of the festive literary competition hosted by Haarlems chamber of rhetoric, which brought together participants from chambers of rhetoric throughout the Dutch Republic in October 1606. It gives an account of the prize competition and of the performance by the Haarlem Flemish Chamber for the benefit of the poor, without competing for the prize. These public theatrical performances of allegorical theatre plays had not only a high educational and moral quality for youth, but youth participated in the performances as well, as can be seen in the plates showing the entrees of the chambers presenting their actors to the public.
The elaborately designed and decorated emblematic devices are illustrated in the present work in full-page engravings. Each performance started with the festive entree of the chamber of rhetoric that was to perform, followed by a welcome verse by the Haarlem chamber as host, answered again by the performing chamber, which then presented itself to the public with explanatory verses about its device and a lengthy ballad explaining the roles and costumes of its actors. Then followed the main part, the morality play, sometimes in several acts, and finally the closing performance of a long "refereyn" and a song, mostly set to popular tunes. All this is recorded word for word in the present work, including the printed musical for the songs. But of the most spectacular elements and in many respects the elements of greatest importance are the 14 fine engraved large folding oblong entree-plates, mostly printed on 2 or 3 conjoined oblong sheets with a length of 120 to 135 cm, together showing some 300 actors in various roles and costumes, including youngsters. These, but especially the two engraved plates of raised platform stages at the beginning of the book offer interesting parallels to contemporary Shakespearean theatre.
Binding slightly browned and stained. In very good condition. Van Aken, Cat. Ned. Toneel I, p. 5; Bibl. Belg., J 37; Carter & Vervliet, Civilité types 307; Goovaerts 429; Peter Nieuwenhuizen, "Sieraden van vier eeuwen oud: het Const-thoonend iuweel en het Haerlems juweel", in: Schoon schip, 13 (2006), pp. 4-11; Praz 307; Scheepers I, 55; Scheurleer, Liedboeken 138 & 139.
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