Have you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644-1720) did-commissioning an extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder. Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a devotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps. His garden came to contain a wide variety of specimens, and he became so obsessed with the fruits that he commissioned a team of copperplate engravers to create 256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size, published in a two-volume work. The first volume appeared in 1708, with the impressively lengthy title The Nuremberg Hesperides, or: A detailed description of the noble fruits of the citron, lemon and bitter orange; how these may be correctly planted, cared for and propagated in that and neighboring regions. In both volumes, Volkamer draws on years of hands-on experience to present a far-reaching account of citrus fruits and how to tend them-from a meticulous walk-through of how to construct temporary orangeries, glasshouses, and hothouses for growing pineapples to commentary on each fruit variety, including its size, shape, color, scent, tree or shrub, leaves, and country of origin. In each plate, Volkamer pays tribute to the verdant landscapes of Northern Italy, his native Nuremberg, and other sites that captured his imagination. From Genovese sea views to the Schoenbrunn Palace, each locale is depicted in the same exceptional detail as the fruit that overhangs it. We witness branches heavy with grapefruits arching across a sun-bathed yard in Bologna and marvel at a huge pineapple plant sprouting from a South American town. The result is at once a fantastical line-up of botanical beauty and a highly poetic tour through the lush gardens and places where these fruits grew.Few colored sets of Volkamer's work are still in existence today. This publication draws on the two recently discovered hand-colored volumes in the city of Furth's municipal archive in Schloss Burgfarrnbach. The reprint also includes 56 newly discovered illustrations that Volkamer intended to present in a third volume.

At the end of World War II, the US Office of Military Government for Germany and Bavaria, through its Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives division, was responsible for the repatriation of most of the tens of thousands of artworks looted by the Nazis in the countries they had occupied. With the help of the US Army's Monuments Men-the name given to a hand-picked group of art historians and museum professionals commissioned for this important duty-massive numbers of objects were retrieved from their wartime hiding places and inventoried for repatriation. Iris Lauterbach's fascinating history documents the story of the Allies' Central Collecting Point (CCP), set up in the former Nazi Party headquarters at Koenigsplatz in Munich, where the confiscated works were transported to be identified and sorted for restitution. This book presents her archival research on the events, people, new facts, and intrigue, with meticulous attention to the official systems, frameworks, and logistical and bureaucratic enterprise of the Munich CCP in the years from 1945 to 1949. She uncovers the stories of the people who worked there at a time of lingering political suspicions; narrates the research, conservation, and restitution process; and investigates how the works of art were managed and returned to their owners.

Das Parteizentrum der NSDAP am Koenigsplatz in Munchen war das erste reprasentative Bauprojekt der Nationalsozialisten in Deutschland. Nach Planen von Paul Ludwig Troost entstand bis 1937 ein monumentales Forum der Burokratie und des Kults. Der klassizistische Platz wurde zum Kultort fur die in zwei 'Ehrentempeln' beigesetzten 'Martyrer der Bewegung' und zur Kulisse fur die Massenaufmarsche der NSDAP. Wahrend im 'Verwaltungsbau' unter der Leitung des Reichsschatzmeisters das Parteivermoegen kontrolliert und die Kartei der uber sieben Millionen Parteimitglieder gefuhrt wurde, diente der 'Fuhrerbau' Adolf Hitler und seinem Stellvertreter als reprasentativer Amtssitz. 1945 richtete die amerikanische Militarregierung in den ehemaligen Parteibauten den Central Art Collecting Point ein. Von hier aus wurden Werke der nationalsozialistischen Beutekunst an die rechtmassigen Eigentumer in ganz Europa restituiert. Seit 1947 hat das Zentralinstitut fur Kunstgeschichte seinen Sitz im ehemaligen 'Verwaltungsbau der NSDAP'. Zahlreiche Abbildungen fuhren die Gebaude am Koenigsplatz vor Augen, in deren unmittelbarer Nahe in Kurze das NS-Dokumentationszentrum fur Munchen errichtet werden soll. Die Publikation fasst die Geschichte des Parteizentrums und die Nutzungen der Gebaude seit dem Anfang der 1930er Jahre bis heute zusammen.