A very interesting set of four engravings by the important publisher and art dealer Christoph Weigel the Elder, depicting an organ builder, a string maker, a musician, and an instrumentalist at their work, each accompanied by a short poem in German explaining how the work of each is to the glory of God. Taken from Weigel's 1698 volume Abbildung der gemein-nützlichen Haupt-Stände: von denen Regenten u. ihren so in Friedens- als Kriegs-Zeiten zugeordneten Bedienten an biss auf alle Künstler u. Handwercker, a well-known example of the German Ständebuch genre. Foxing, edge wear, and some small tape and paper repairs; overall in very good condition. Each 3.75 x 6.25 inches (9.7 x 16.1 cm).

The early modern Ständebuch genre gathered together descriptions and illustrations of people in different stations of life, starting from ecclesiastical figures and proceeding through noblemen, tradesmen, craftsmen, and finally farmers and free citizens. Each profession was usually accompanied by a moral characterization. For example, the poem below the image of the musician and his lute reads (translated from the German): "My heart, Lord, is in Thy hand / make that band of mercy strong / and tune it, to please Thee well. / If Thou should touch it then / a song to Thy praise / will sound its bright trills."