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Show 112 Bodmer in the production of the copperplates used for Travels, and thus further enhanced the quality of his landscape aquatints. Their involvement, again, was due in large part to Bodmer's previous association with the romantic travelbook industry. Early in 1835 Bodmer traveled to Zurich with some of his American watercolors. At this time, Bodmer may have shown his paintings to his uncle, J. J. Meier.41 Whether this trip had any immediate connection with the proposed illustrations for Travels is not certain, but Bodmer did meet with Franz Hegi (1774-1850), who was preparing some etchings of the Rhineland for Bodmer.42 Hegi had worked with Bodmer before, etching Hospital Cues after Bodmer's design, and printed by Holscher in 1830. However, Bodmer probably knew Hegi well before that time. Hegi often collaborated with Bodmer's uncle and was one of several Swiss etchers who often worked on Swiss and German albums. The connection with Meier and Hegi was very important, because it was probably later used in securing the help of other well-known etchers such as Himley, Salathe, Martens, Hurlimann, and perhaps Lucas Weber, all of whom had worked either with Hegi or Meier in the past.4^ It was a relatively small circle of artists and publishers who collaborated to produce most of these albums, so it would not have been difficult for Bodmer to make preliminary arrangements to engage several of the etchers for the future production of his aquatints at this time. Bodmer's trip to Zurich was also important for another reason. Maximilian had sent Bodmer to Zurich with a letter of introduction to Maximilian's colleague, Heinrich Schinz, a professor at Zurich University. Schinz's involvement-although peripheral to the publication of Travels itself-is, nonetheless, important, as it offers a glimpse into the process of European |