Among the books that Duke August the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg kept close during his education was not a volume he had written, but one he had been given to fill. Now Cod. Guelf. 84.6 Aug. 12° in the Herzog August Bibliothek at Wolfenbüttel, it began as a copy of Theodor de Bry’s Emblemata nobilitati et vulgo scitu digna, printed at Frankfurt am Main in 1592, and became, between 1594 and 1604, the duke’s personal album of friendship.
A Printed Book Designed to Be Completed by Hand
De Bry engraved his Stam vnd Wapenbuchlein for precisely this purpose. Alongside emblems with their explanatory epigrams, he supplied a long series of heraldic cartouches showing helm and mantling while leaving each shield deliberately empty. The book arrived unfinished, waiting for the arms of whoever would claim a page.
Interleaved Paper, Painted Arms, Autograph Hands
Blank paper was bound in throughout the volume’s 307 small oblong leaves, each measuring about 10 × 15.5 cm. On these interleaves the duke’s acquaintances entered their dedications and signatures, and the engraved escutcheons were painted with their achievements. A parchment binding with blind-printed ornament and gilt edges closes the whole. A considerable number of leaves were never used.
The Social Map of a Young Prince
An album amicorum recorded obligation as much as affection. For a prince still in his twenties, the volume assembled a portable network of rank, learning and confessional allegiance.
What the Empty Pages Say
The unfilled shields are not failures of the book. They remain what de Bry made them: an invitation, still open.
We have 1 facsimile edition of the manuscript "Stammbuch of Augustus the Younger": Herzog August D. J. zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg. Stammbuch 1594-1604 facsimile edition, published by Mueller & Schindler, 1979
Request Info / Price