• Title : Meierhof in Hoengg; Schirmensee bei Rapperschwyl
• Ref  :  70526
• Size: 27in x 19in (685mm x 485mm)
• Date : 1868
• Condition: (A) Very Good Condition

Description:
This large original copper plate engraved antique print, details of houses of the Hongg & Rapperswil districts in the Swiss city of Zurich by Ernst Gladbach, was published in the 1868 edition of Der Schweizer Holzstyl in seinen cantonalen und constructiven Verschiedenheiten vergleichend dargestellt mit Holzbauten Deutschlands . Darmstadt: Carl Koehler\'s Verlag.
(Translation of title: The comparisons in construction & details between wooden houses in Switzerland and Germany)

General Definitions:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color : - off white
Age of map color: - Original
Colors used: - Yellow, blue, green, brown
General color appearance: - Authentic
Paper size: - 27in x 19in (685mm x 485mm)
Plate size: - 18 1/2in x 13 1/2in (470mm x 345mm)
Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Small repair to left margin, no loss
Plate area: - Central vertical fold
Verso: - None

Gladbach, Ernst Georg 1812 - 1896 
Born in Darmstadt, Germany the son of a jurist, Gladbach early on became involved in architecture and construction issues in particular through his uncle Georg Moller Moller [1784-1852] was an influential court builder in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. At the age of 14 Gladbach began an apprenticeship in his uncle’s office. He soon worked on major projects such as the theatre of Mainz [1829-1833] and supported his uncle in teaching young architects. Aside from this, he became involved with the book series Denkmaler der deutschen Baukunst (Moller 1815-1851). In the large-format illustrated volumes Moller presented detailed architectural surveys of medieval buildings. In the books and in his work as an architect and teacher he focused on construction issues in particular. Between 1833-1844 he published his own textbook on construction, under the title Beiträge zu der Lehre von den Construktionen, that assembled surveys of exemplary buildings. For Gladbach’s further work, the exposure to construction issues in his uncle’s office was formative. In addition, Gladbach received drawing lessons from his cousin Fritz Hessemer who also worked in Moller’s office. The lessons resulted in the publication of some of Gladbach’s artistic drawings by a publisher in Darmstadt. After studying at the universities in Giessen and Heidelberg, Gladbach further improved his drawing skills on a three-year study trip that took him to different German cities and then to Italy from 1837 to 1839. Back in Germany Gladbach worked as a master builder for the Hesse state civil service, dealing with timber construction mainly in a practical way. In his spare time he did some building surveys that he published together with some of Moller’s surveys as a third volume to the series Denkmäler der deutschen Baukunst. In 1857 Gladbach was appointed professor for structural theory and construction materials at the newly founded Swiss Polytechnic School in Zurich and kept this position until 1890. Being professor at the Polytechnic School, he shifted once more the main focus of his work: Gladbach stopped being professionally active as an architect. Instead, teaching became the centre of his life. In addition to his teaching load at the Polytechnic School he gave private drawing lessons. The long semester breaks allowed him to carry out study trips in the Swiss mountains where he conducted his extensive studies on historical timber constructions. In summary, Gladbach explored construction issues from different views before publishing his well-known books on Swiss timber construction: from the view of a designing architect, of a teacher wanting to make constructions issues comprehensible, of an artist who likes to draw and, last but not least, as an architect doing precise building surveys for his uncle’s publication series. This multi-perspective view decisively influenced Gladbach’s method of analysing and documenting historical Swiss timber structures.