Johannes Teyler (1648-c. 1709), printer Views of buildings in Amsterdam: Town Hall and facades of houses on the canal, built in 1670-1690. Etching. Printed in colour (colour variants reproduced at New Hollstein). Very fine proofs on cream laid paper. Minor foxing or soiling. Good margins (N. H. 137 without lateral margin). Very rare. Set of 16 p. Detail of plates : - Amsterdam, façade of the Town Hall. [222 x 285]. New Hollstein 128. - Amsterdam, north facade of the Town Hall. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 129. - Amsterdam, north facade of the Town Hall. Proof. [223 x 285]. New Hollstein 129. - Amsterdam, rear façade of the Town Hall. [223 x 283]. New Hollstein 130. - Amsterdam, Herengracht 502 (right) and Keizersgracht 604 (left). [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 132. - Amsterdam, Herengracht 478-474. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 134. - Amsterdam, Herengracht 412 and 472 [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 135. - Amsterdam, Herengracht 466, 386 (?) and 533-535. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 137. - Amsterdam, Herengracht 462-458. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 138. - Amsterdam, Herengracht 444-448. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 140. - Amsterdam, Keizersgracht 738-730 [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 142. - Amsterdam, Keizersgracht 674-672. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 143. - Amsterdam, Keizersgracht 526-518. [225 x 285]. New Hollstein 144. - Amsterdam, Keizersgracht 452 (left) and 480-476 (right). [223 x 283]. New Hollstein 145. - Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 29. [ 200 x 282]. New Hollstein 146. - Amsterdam, Amstel 216 [ 200 x 280]. New Hollstein 147. A pioneer of coloured etching in Holland, Teyler developed his process a few decades after Abraham Bosse and Charles de La Fontaine had obtained the king's privilege to print in colour in France in 1637. Towards the middle of the 17th century, in various places and in an uncoordinated way, attempts at intaglio printing with tinting began to appear. Whereas Bosse engraved two plates, one for each colour, with a register system, Teyler seems to have been the inventor of colour inking "à la poupée" on a single plate. "His proofs] are quite remarkable, both for their subject matter and for their quality, the latter, thanks to the freshness of the colours and the precision of their application, being like a signature". (F. Rodari, ed., Anatomie de la couleur, Paris, BnF and Lausanne, Olympic Museum, 1996, p. 30). "Born in Nijmegen in 1648, after studying mathematics and philosophy, Teyler first taught these subjects in his home town. In 1673, following the occupation of Nijmegen by the French army, he left for Berlin, where he became a military engineer in the service of Duke Frederick William of Brandenburg, before travelling to Italy and the Levant in the company of the draughtsman and engraver Jan van Call, between 1679 and 1683. On his return to the United Provinces, he decided, probably in collaboration with Jan van Call, to set up a workshop for printing colour prints on paper or fabric. This workshop operated first in Nijmegen, then in Amsterdam, and finally in Ryswick from 1685 to 1697. On 20 February 1688, Teyler obtained a privilege for his colour printing technique, which provides valuable information about his activities. The privilege states in particular that "[Teyler] has invented a new method of representing on paper, parchment, silk or other cloth, in the form of maps, books, cloths and the like, all sorts of figures, ornaments and, for certain armies, encampments...". The privilege states that the images will be printed in colour. This text shows that Teyler's main activity was the production of printed fabrics and "miniatures". [...] The prints produced by the studio are copper engravings, printed in colour by inking the plate "à la poupée". This technique involves applying different coloured inks, using a small cloth rolled into a ball (the "poupée"), to a single engraved copper matrix: when printed, in a single run, the different areas of the image are inked in different colours. This process requires extreme meticulousness when inking the plate, so that the colours do not mix when printed. This technique was used, albeit rarely, from the very beginnings of printmaking in the 15th century. But it was under Teyler's direction that it reached a new technical quality: the care taken with the prints, the number (up to 10), the subtlety and brilliance of the colours used make his prints exceptional pieces." (blog.bibliotheque.inha.fr) "Teyler has long been seen as an engraver or publisher, but he clearly was not. He was a learned mathematician and philosopher who had made military engineering his profession, especially in the service of Brandenburg. [...] He can also not be seen as a conventional publisher, because the prints from his workshop never have a publisher's address [...] Teyler invented the colour process and financed the workshop, but for its production he had to contract designers, engravers and plate printers. The first artists certainly connected with Teyler are Jan van Call and Mattheus Berkenboom". (A. Stijnman & S. Turner, Johannes Teyler and Dutch Colour Prints, Part I, The New Hollstein, Ouderkerk a. d. Ijssel, Sound and Vision Publishers, & The Rijksmuseum, 2017, p. xxxiv). "Counterproofs are found often enough. Multiple counterproofs in different palettes of the same plate seem to show either a manner of speeding up production or a way to produce mirror-imaged impressions for use in, for example, wallpaper where a symmetrical effect was required. "(Ibid., p. xliii).