Page - 755 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 2

755Ambitions as a Publisher I will come back below, must be taken with a grain of salt. It is far more likely that among these patrons there was in fact little concrete ambition to further Strada’s projects, the scope of which carried a big risk of failure with it. Strada’s later correspondence with his Italian patrons, though dealing with several of his projects, never refers to his 1573 request for funds, much less to any subven- tions actually received. Surely it is significant that Maximilian ii himself ap- pears not to have provided any concrete financial support.78 14.6.2 Attempts to Sell House and Collection While visiting Prague sometime in the summer or early autumn of 1573, Strada communicated the disappointing results of his initiative to his patron, Vilém z Rožmberk. Coming back to this in a letter written shortly before Christmas, he announced that he now had decided to sell his collection and his library, as well as his house, in order to be able to finance the printing of his books. Strada first offered it all to Rožmberk, both because of ‘der alte Kundschaft’ , his long- standing and continuing patronage, and because at an earlier time Rožmberk had expressed interest in the house. Strada offered it to him for eight thousand Thaler ‘though it has cost me more than nine thousand’. For the ‘Kunstkam- mer’ and the ‘Liberey’ he referred to the inventory and pricelist he had given Rožmberk on the occasion of an earlier visit to his house; and he was rather sanguine as to his reaction, because he expressed the hope that his patron would accept the offer before the end of January, so that Strada could take the cash with him on his planned trip to Venice in February 1574.79 meiner Buechdruckhereij, an die Chur und Fürstten, auch andere Stände des Heiligen Römischen Reichs, verferdiget; dieselben ich durch in Octavium lassen praesentiern, hat er alles Gellt sovil ime verehrt für sich behalten, mier oder der meinen Heller werdt nicht davon folgen lassen; da doch der Churfürstten von Sachsen mier allein fünffhundert Thaller verehrt, daher leichtlich zu schliessen und zu vermuedten, was ime von zwaintzig Briefen zuverehren von andern möge erfolgt sein’. It seems odd that the Elector should have waited for almost two years to respond to Maximilian’s recommendation. 78 The accounts of the Hofkammer make no mention of any ‘aiuto di costa’ Strada may have received for this purpose. 79 Doc. 1573-12-18: ‘Weyder so wert sie Euer Gnaden wol haben zu erinern, wie ich bey Euer Gnaden zu Prach bin gebesen, unndt ich Dero angezagt hab von den vir Schreyben, die mir Ir[?] Röm[isch] K[ayserliches] May[estät] geben hat on die Corfirsten mit samt den Reysstetten von wegen meiner Biecher, unndt ich nicht underlassen hab kinnen Euer Gnaden anzuzagen, wie das dieselbige Schreyben wenig Nutz gebracht haben unndt [ich] nichts ausgericht hab und von allen Leytten verlassen bin. So bin ich bezwungen, meine Kunstkamer mit der Liberey, wies Euer Gnaden gesehen haben, unndt mit samt dem Haus, zu verkaufen, unndt mit dem selbigen Gelt meine Piecher druken lassen. So hab ich nit underlassen kinnen Euer Gnaden, als meinem gnedichen Herrn, zum ersten die Sach zu offerieren, und zu wissen thuen, wo Sie ein Lust hetten zu meiner Kunstkamer