FERDINAND II OF TYROL. Letter signed "Ferdinand", in German, - Lot 12

Lot n° 12
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Estimation :
4000 - 6000 EUR
Result : NC
FERDINAND II OF TYROL. Letter signed "Ferdinand", in German, - Lot 12
FERDINAND II OF TYROL. Letter signed "Ferdinand", in German, countersigned by Justinian Moser as chancellor, addressed to a sovereign prince. Innsbruck, June 12, 1583. 3 pp. 1/2 in-folio. REQUEST FOR PRIVILEGE IN FAVOR OF BARON HANS ALBRECHT VON SPRINZENSTEIN auf Neuhaus, for "a newly discovered casting technique" ("ainer newerfunden Gießkunst"). This technique made it possible to produce "light artillery by casting" ("mit Gießung ringes Geschüz"): "EACH PIECE IS LIGHTER BY HALF AND MORE THAN MANY OF THOSE WHICH HAVE BEEN MELTED UP TO NOW, AND THEREFORE TAKES THE SAME WEIGHT OF POWDER AND LEAD AS ANOTHER AND EVEN MORE" ("ain Jedes Stuckh, umb halben thail und noch ain merers alls man jezund und bißdahere zu giessen pflegt, ringer sain, und dannacht das Khraut und Lot, wie ainannder Stuckh das mer alls noch so schwer schiessen"). Ferdinand of Tyrol also gives a copy of a certificate in which he claims to have seen for himself the effectiveness of a falcon produced by this new technique. ARCHIDUC OF AUSTRIA, COUNT OF TYROL AND FORMER AUSTRIA, FERDINAND OF HABSBURG (1529-1595) was the son of Emperor Ferdinand I and Anne Jagellon (Queen of Bohemia and Hungary), the brother of Emperor Maximilian II, and thus the nephew of Charles V. He was made governor of Bohemia and Hungary. He was made governor of Bohemia, grand bailiff of Alsace, sovereign count of Tyrol, and took resolute action against the influence of Lutheranism in his states. PRINCE OF A BRILLIANT COURT, despite severe financial difficulties, he turned his castle at Ambras near Innsbruck into a major cultural center, amassing an extensive library, a renowned cabinet of curiosities, and the largest collection of arms and armor of his time. He married a commoner, then, widowed in 1582, married for the second time Anne-Catherine Gonzague, daughter of the Duke of Mantua. ONE OF THE GREATEST MILITARY ENGINEERS OF THE RENAISSANCE, BARON VON SPRINZENSTEIN (1543-1598) was the author of major technical inventions, mainly in artillery, but also in engineering (fortifications, bridges, etc.). Educated at the court of Archduke Charles, Duke of Styria, he was mainly in the service of the House of Habsburg: he entered the service of Archduchess Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany through her marriage to Francesco de' Medici, as an officer, and in 1578 entered the household of Archduke Ferdinand, Count of Tyrol, where he became State Councillor. In 1584, he divided his service between Ferdinand of Tyrol and William of Bavaria, also conducting missions on behalf of Archduke Maximilian, King of Poland, Duke Charles III of Lorraine, and Archduke Matthias. In 1593, he was appointed military advisor to the Emperor, i.e. a member of the ministerial council in charge of war administration. In 1595, he became general steward of Austrian fortresses, and took part in campaigns against the Turks, notably in Hungary, where his explosives enabled the recapture of Raab (Györ).
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