Observing an engraver’s workshop in 1623

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❧ Wolfgang Kilian, citizen and engraver of Augsburg.

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❧ “Hard labor conquers difficulty” — Operating the rolling press requires two hands and a foot!

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❧ Whereas others in the book trade choose emblematic figures or allegorical symbols for their devices, Wolfgang Kilian (1581-1662) gives us a detailed look into his shop. Depictions of his hard work now are his bona fides, while others prefer allusions to the past.

The full device is on the colophon page of Serenissimorum Austriae Ducum, Archiducum, Regum, Imperatorum Genealogia, à Rudolpho I. Habsburgensi, Caesare, ad Ferdinandum II. Rom. Imp. semper Augustum, &c. Aeri incisa a Wolfgango Kiliano, Eiconographo Augustano. (Augsburg: Wolfgang Kilian, 1623). Call number: (Ex) CS807.F4 M3 1580q

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About Stephen Ferguson

Stephen Ferguson is Librarian Emeritus, Princeton University Library. He came to Princeton in 1975 to be Curator of Rare Books, after several years of professional work at the John Carter Brown Library (Brown University) and the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Mass.). Between 2014 and 2026, he held various posts as an Associate University Librarian at Princeton. He has degrees from Bowdoin (A.B.) and Rutgers (M.L.S.). His scholarly interests include book history, provenance research, and the history of collecting. He has taught at Drew University on the latter topic.