Seite - 759 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Band 2

759Ambitions as a Publisher both published in 1575, he began to look for other means. Doubtless he had tried to interest professional publishers and printing houses to go shares in the investment needed, but it is not clear whether he was successful in this. The Caesar edition, printed by Sigmund Feyerabend’s business partner Georg Rab (Corvinus), mentions the latter’s name only in the colophon, which may indicate that he was not financially involved: its title page and its colophon present Strada’s two printer’s marks and both state that he had borne the printing costs: ‘Ex Musaeo et impensis Jacobi Stradae Mantuanae, S[acrae]. C[aesareae]. M[aiestatis]. Antiquarij, et civis Romani’ [Fig. 14.28–14.29]. On the other hand the printer of Serlio’s Settimo Libro, Andreas Wechel, probably invested in it, since it is his name that is given in the impressum, though again title page and colophon are decorated with two versions of Stra- da’s printer’s mark [Fig. 14.30].88 It can be concluded that Strada’s projects were not commercially viable and could not be printed without subventions from wealthy patrons. Though there is no evidence that Maximilian contributed, Strada later claimed that he had intended to do so and had actually commanded Strada to discuss his project with the Hofkammer, but that his sudden death in October 1576 interrupted these negotiations. Be that as it may, it is certain that Maximilian’s protection and his recommendation were of great value and that his death was a huge setback for Strada’s projects.89 In consequence Strada attempted to interest other Princes to take his projects under their wing, more often implicitly, but sometimes explicitly, such as when he offered Grand Duke Francesco of Tus- cany some of his works to be printed at a press he had heard the Grand Duke intended to set up. Dani’s notes indicated that the formal reply informed Stra- da that there was at the time no press operated on behalf of the Medici Grand Dukes, but that he was free to have his books printed at his own expense by one of the printers active in Florence, such as the Giunti or ‘Maestro Giorgio 88 On Corvinus, who had come to Frankfurt recently and worked in partnership with the Frankfurt printers Sigmund Feyerabend and Weygand Han, see Klöss 1960; on Wechel, see Evans 1975. 89 Doc. 1577-10-04(c), Strada to Jacopo Dani: ‘Si che Vostra Signoria vede la morte del mio pa- drone à fatto si che tutte le mie fattiche anch’elle son morte; et staranno morte per insino che qualche Principe le farra resussitare et stampare’; Doc 1581-01-04, Strada to August, Elector of Saxony: ‘La M.C. mio padrone, che in Gloria, Max[imilia]no ne provisse più volte, che quando io volevo cominciar a far stampare, che S.M.C. mi voleva provedere alla spesa di quello facevo di bisogno, et di questo io ne dovvevo trattare con la camera, che di tutto ne haveria provisto al bisogno. Hora, Exc. Sign., quand’io volsi<…>cominciare a met- tere ad esecutione questo negotio per stampare; io in stesso andai a Ratisbona a trovare S.M.C. la quale M. mi comandò che dovesse de l’tutto dar informatione alla Camera; et mentre si trattava questo negotio, S.M.C. morse’.