But of all the Strassburg printers, there can be no doubt that, from a
strictly pictorial point of view, the Marks of Johann Reinhold
Dulssecker, 1696-1737, are by far the most beautiful. Indeed, in many
respects they are the most charming examples to be found among the
devices of any time or country. In some instances they partake much more
of the character of a vignette than a tradesman’s mark. His earliest
device is composed of his monogram; and his first decorative Mark is the
very beautiful little picture of an English garden, in the central
pathway of which occurs his initials. This Mark appears to have been
used in only one book, “M. Fabii Quinctiliani Declamationes ... ex
recensione Ulrici Obrechti,” 1698. A type of Mark very frequently used
by him occurs in Schilter’s “Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum,” 1702, with
his motto of “Dominus providebit,” and of this Mark we give an
excessively rare variant on p. 47. He had eleven Marks, his list
includes books of all kinds, in Latin, German, and French.
[Illustration: JOHANN REINHOLD DULSSECKER.