1745 Military Broadside, Quemque suae rapiunt, Recruiting Soldiers, Infantry

Quemque suae rapiunt - in proelia cause, Hos polluta do us, legesque in pace limenda, Hos ferro fugiendo fames

Rare Broadside depiction of an Army Recruiting scene with descriptive text.  

Etching.  

Dimensions
Height: 12.41 in. (31.5 cm)
Width: 15.75 in. (40 cm)

Although unsigned, the work is attributed to Johann Balthasar Bullinger a pupil of Johann Melchior Füssli and then of Johannes Simler, with whom he studied both painting and engraving.  Published by the Militarische Gesellschaft der Pförtneren in Zürich auf das Neu Jahr 1745.  

Reference: Zürcher Neujahrsblätter, Zürich 1971, S. 59.  

The Military Company in Zurich set itself the task of training a powerful basic unit through regular exercises. The government supported the effort by granting ammunition and equipment. The Society, founded in 1713, published its first New Year's broadside in 1744, followed by 54 more (until 1790). The sequence came to a standstill in the revolutionary year 1798, which was accompanied by the dissolution of the company. These large-format single-sheet engravings generally deal with the subject of infantry warfare and infantry training. The many topographically very precise depictions, each of which depicts military operations in the Zurich area, are remarkable.

Minor wear and spotting constant with age and use.