The Dance of Death.

8 9

of prints belonging to the King of Bavaria, in which,besides the name, is the date mdxxil 5

6. A print of a dagger or knife case, in length 9 inches.At top, a figure inscribed venvs has a lighted torch in onehand and a horn in the other; she is accompanied byCupid. In the middle two boys are playing, and atbottom three others standing, one with a helmet.

7. A copy of Albert Diirer's decollation of John theBaptist, with the mark ]-[ L reversed, is mentioned by

Zani as certainly belonging to this artist. 6 In the indexof names, he says, he finds his name thus written, hanns

LVTZELBVRGER FORMSCHNIDER GENANT (chiamato) FRANCK,

and calls him the true prince of engravers on wood.

8. An alphabet with a Dance of Death, the subjects ofwhich, with a few exceptions, are the same as those in theother Dance ; the designs, however, occasionally vary. Indelicacy of drawing, in strength of character and in skillas to engraving, they may be justly pronounced superior toeverything of the kind, and their excellence will probablyremain a long time unrivalled. The figures are so small asalmost to require the aid of lenses, the size of each letterbeing only an inch square. Zani had seen and admiredthis alphabet at Dresden. 7

9. Another alphabet by the same artists. It is a Danceof Peasants, intermixed with other subjects, some of whichare not of the most delicate nature. They are smallerthan the letters in the preceding article, and are probablyconnected in point of design with the Dance of Peasantsthat Holbein is said to have painted at Basle.

10. Another alphabet, also by the same artists. This isin all respects equal in beauty and merit to the others, andexhibits groups of boys in the most amusing and playfulattitudes and employments. The size of the letters is littlemore than half an inch square. These children muchresemble those which Holbein probably added to the latereditions of the Lyons engravings. 8

5 Diet, de monogrammes, &c, torn. i. pp. 418, 499. 6 Enciclop.metod. par ii. vol. vii. p. 16. 7 This beautiful series is given, in

exact fac-simile, as Initial-letters to the Chapters of the present Volume.

8 All the above prints are in the author's possession, except No. 7,and his copy of No. 5 has not the tablets with the name, &c.