Wapenkaart met de wapens en namen van de Heren Veertigen van Delft - Hendrik de Leth

A detailed eighteenth-century heraldic print by Hendrik de Leth, documenting the coats of arms and names of the Council of Forty in Delft.

This detailed print by Hendrik de Leth documents the heraldic achievements of the Heren Veertigen, or the Council of Forty, of the city of Delft. As an engraver and cartographer active in Amsterdam during the eighteenth century, de Leth produced works that functioned as both administrative records and visual catalogues of civic authority. The composition is organised into a strict grid, presenting individual shields that identify specific members of the Delft governing body. Each entry includes the family coat of arms alongside the name of the official and the year of their appointment.

The visual language of the piece is defined by the precision of the burin. The lines are thin and controlled, allowing for the clear rendering of heraldic charges such as lions, birds, trees, and geometric divisions. The work avoids decorative excess, prioritising the legibility of the names and the accuracy of the armorial bearings. Such prints were often commissioned to commemorate the lineage of prominent families or to serve as reference material for local historians and genealogists.

By cataloguing the identities of these men, de Leth provides a window into the social structure of Delft. The repetition of the shield format creates a rhythmic, orderly appearance that reflects the bureaucratic nature of the subject matter. This print is a specimen of Dutch civic documentation, capturing the intersection of personal identity and municipal governance. The monochrome palette and the systematic arrangement of the shields demonstrate the technical standards of eighteenth-century Dutch printmaking, where clarity and information density were paramount. This piece is suitable for those interested in genealogy, heraldry, or the history of Dutch municipal administration.