Treaty of Hubertusburg
by which on
15 February 1763
the Seven Years’ War ended
a Global Conflict of Modern Dimension
found its Conclusion
Preceded the year before after czarina Elizaveta had passed away by Russia’s withdrawal from the Grand Coalition against Prussia and the Treaty of St. Petersburg under the new czar Peter III, followed by the Treaty of Hamburg with Sweden the same year and – some days before on February 10 – the Treaty of Paris, in which France had to cede her possessions in North America and India to Great Britain. And
“ Although Frederick (the Great) not only had stood his ground, but in some sense could be considered victor, he demanded nothing from his opponents but their readiness for peace …
And so on 15 February 1763
Prussia , Austria and Saxony made the peace at Hubertusburg ,
according to which
everything remained as it had been before the war ”
(Eberhard Orthbandt, [German History], 1954, p. 604).
« He had not gained anything tangible …
But Prussia stood , not one village had she lost ,
Silesia was kept and
the object of the grand coalition utterly missed .
That was a severe humiliation of the continent
by this one man »
(Frederick and the Grand Coalition
A Sketch for the Day and the Hour)
yet did not apply to
This Very Rare White Badger
which was speckled
with yellow reddish and dark chestnut spots .
“Dug out and hounded in the Park at St. Hubertusburg (near Leipsic) the 5th October in the year 1724” already, Martin Elias Ridinger (1731 Augsburg 1780), however, etched him from his father Johann Elias’ (Ulm 1698 – Augsburg 1767) design in
as a memorial to the conclusion of peace
at the splendid hunting seat there, raised by Augustus the Strong for crown prince Frederick Augustus and completed just in 1724, ransacked during the war in retaliation for the destruction of Charlottenburg (Berlin), by which
a global conflict of modern dimension
found its conclusion
and Prussia was established as European power :
“ So this cruel war ended, which threatened to devastate Europe: without that one power, Great Britain excepted, extended in the least the limits of its domination. The treaty between France and England was only signed some days sooner than that of Hubertusburg. France lost by it her most principal possessions in America. The English restored to them Martinique, Guadeloupe, the fort Belle=Isle, and Pondicherry; and France restored Minorca to the English …
Who could foresee, or just even imagine, that Prussia, attacked by the powers of Austria, Russia, France, Sweden, and all the Holy Roman Empire, should withstand a league so formidable, and in a war, wherein everything predicted its ruin, should lose not the least of her possessions? Who could have expected, that France with her intrinsic strength, with her grand alliances, with so many resources, should lose her most principal possessions in East India, and fall the victim of that war? All these facts must have appeared incredible in the year 1757 ”
(Frederick II, History of the Seven Years’ War, Berlin 1788, pt. II, pp. 357 f.).
By the Hubertusburg badger, however, Martin Elias at the same time revived the series of the Most Wondrous Deer and other Animals practically petered out lastly during the years of war, to further it substantially to its posthumous completion 1768. So of the set’s final 27 sheet, including the present one, 21 have been worked in copper by Martin Elias and only six anymore by the father. Those following the badger – sheet 74 (Thienemann 316) of the series – likewise etched by Martin Elias and concerning events from 1763, therefore allowing for the chronologically general classification of the present one, too.
Marvelous impression rich in contrast and a warm tone on buff laid paper. On the back marginal tape around from previous framing and a corresponding light streak on the front in the 2.8-5.1 cm wide white margin. Small backed tear lower left.
Offer no. 13,222 / EUR 654. / export price EUR 621. (c. US$ 782.) + shipping
« We all must take comfort from that ,
that our century forms an epoch of world history
and that we have been witnesses of events
as the change of things has not caused
in such an extraordinary manner for a long time .
That means much for our curiosity ,
but nothing for our fortune »
during the Seven Years’ War
to his favorite sister, Henriette, Margravine of Bayreuth
“ Thank you very much for your prompt and very cooperative handling of this order. I very much look forward to seeing the map ”
(Mr. D. R.-H., January 26, 2005)