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Show 111 1832 and 1833. In addition to these books, Holscher also sold several different single prints designed by Bodmer. Some, if not all, of these single prints are likely the same as those published in the albums. From the time Bodmer returned to Europe his energies were divided. Maximilian was anxious for Bodmer to begin work on the aquatints for his book, Holscher was interested in romantic views of the Rhine, and Bodmer apparently hoped to satisfy both employers. Bodmer stayed to the end of September 1834 in the Cologne area, both to finish the watercolors of the American expedition, and work on paintings for additional albums planned by Holscher. Several of these paintings used in future albums, including those executed for Das Moselthal zwischen Koblenz und Trier (1836) and Malerische Ansichten des Rheins und der Lahn (1836-37), may have been started by Bodmer during the first months after his return.4^ Bodmer's experience with romantic travelbook landscape illustration, then, was extensive, and those he would produce for Travels were very similar to the Rhineland landscapes he had produced in his early career. However, the Travels' landscapes were also atypical of the majority of contemporary travelbooks that were being produced in the mid-1830s; the oversized and expensive format chosen by Maximilian allowed Bodmer to produce images whose quality far exceeded those which could be achieved either in a smaller album format or through the less-costly medium of lithography. The production of Travels' illustrations was reminiscent of the travelbooks produced in the late eighteenth century, when aquatint was at its peak of popularity. Many of the most skilled aquatint etchers in Europe collaborated with |
