Emperor Frederick III
Letters of Patent (for Heinrich Scholtz), in German, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Austria, Vienna, 1650]

Rare and historically important letters patent, witnessing the survival of manuscript culture well into the modern era.

ii (paper + 1 vellum) + 6 + ii (paper + vellum) leaves, unfoliated, [collation: bound in single quire], watermark bears a sickle within a cartouche with initials ‘T’ and ‘W’ at base, blind ruled in single column of 18 lines (justification: 168 mm × 180 mm), written in Kanzleischrift in brown ink, cadell capitals looping into margins, 1 MINIATURE three-quarters page in gold frame bearing heraldic imagery and allegorical figures. Bound in a quarto red velvet album over boards with sewing supports visible at spine stations, with untrimmed ends visible between ff. 3–4, wear to velvet at stress points, with small splits and abrasions to the covering, minor worming to the pastedowns, minimal cockling, and some staining and soiling to the margins, otherwise in good condition. Dimensions 290 mm × 315 mm.

Provenance
(1) Heinrich Scholtz, who served as one of the rotating mayors of the city of Schweidnitz (present day Świdnica) during the critical years of reconstruction following the Thirty Years’ War (c. 1650–1655).

(2) typed paper label in book reads “Acquired from Gunther Sale, thru A.A.A., 11/12/25 [November 12, 1925].

(3) William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951), belonging to the International Studio Art Corporation, the company he formed in the 1920s as a wholly owned subsidiary of his holdings, including his art, according to a typed letter dated 1941 from Mr. Peter Fleming of Hammer Galleries, New York, inserted as the rear pastedown, then with a second letter patent of 1621 also of 6 folios signed by Emperor Frederick II, no longer accompanying it.

(4) Collection of Dr. Scott Schwartz, New York, his bookplate and catalog number “MS 6” on front pastedown.

Text
f. 1, Titular page of Emperor Ferdinand III; ff. 1v–2v, Imperial Adelsbrief (ennoblement diploma); ff. 3–5, Wappenverleihung (grant of arms); f. 6, blank with single signature.

Illumination
Rare and historically important letters patent signed in autograph by Emperors Frederick III issued from the Imperial Chancery at Vienna for Heinrich Scholtz, one of the principal civic and regional officials overseeing the reconstruction of Silesia after the Thirty Years’ War. Combining the ceremonial authority of the imperial chancery with vibrant heraldic display, the document stands as a fascinating case of ennoblement favors granted to subjects in the service of the Habsburg Empire. Scholtz served as one of the rotating mayors of Schweidnitz during the critical years circa 1650–1655, when the city negotiated the construction of the Lutheran Peace Church while Catholic institutions simultaneously reestablished themselves under Habsburg patronage. Beyond his municipal office, he also acted as Regional Governor (Landeshauptmannschaft) and Secretary (Amtmann) for the joint administration of the Duchies of Schweidnitz and Jauer, the highest imperial authority in the region, placing him at the center of legal, fiscal, and administrative affairs during a decisive period of postwar recovery and confessional negotiation.

Produced through the highly formalized bureaucracy of the Habsburg chancery in Vienna, documents of this kind were drafted by trained secretaries according to established legal formularies before being executed in elegant chancery script on parchment or fine paper and authenticated through signatures and seals. Their imposing layout, enlarged display capitals, and ceremonial language were carefully designed to project imperial authority throughout the Habsburg territories. The illumination in this document was likely executed by a local workshop typically employed for decoration. As official instruments of governance, such letters patent survive as important witnesses to the administrative culture of the early modern Habsburg state and to the mechanisms through which imperial policy was enacted across postwar Central Europe. They also survive as witnesses of manuscript culture well into the modern era.

The subject of the miniature is: f. 3, full-page frontispiece Scholtz’s heraldic device displayed in a cartouche, surmounted by a crown and an eagle, set within an architectural niche, the device flanked by allegorical figures of Justice and Victory with additional heraldic elements in shields positioned above and below the figures, and a crowned imperial eagle bearing imperial iconography.

LITERATURE
Unpublished; Related literature: Thomas Feller, “Die Hofkanzlei,” in Die österreichische Zentralverwaltung, ed. Friedrich Walter, Vienna, 1907, pp. 155–89; Lothar Gross, Die Geschichte der deutschen Reichshofkanzlei von 1559 bis 1806, Vienna, 1933; Elaine C. Tennant, The Habsburg Chancery Language in Perspective, Berkeley, 1985; Michael Hochedlinger, Österreichische Archivgeschichte: Vom Spätmittelalter bis zum Ende des Papierzeitalters, Vienna, 2013; Megan Williams, “‘Zu Notdurfft der Schreiberey’: Die Einrichtung der frühneuzeitlichen Kanzlei,” in Diskurse – Körper – Artefakte: Historische Praxeologie, ed. Dagmar Freist, Berlin, 2016, pp. 167–86.

We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale.

Collection of Dr. Scott Schwartz.

This lot is located in Chicago.

Emperor Frederick III Letters of Patent (for Heinrich Scholtz), in German, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Austria, Vienna, 1650]

Emperor Frederick III
Letters of Patent (for Heinrich Scholtz), in German, illuminated manuscript on parchment [Austria, Vienna, 1650]