Saint Nick: Unrecorded 18th-century devotional print of unusual manufacture.

[Devotional print] / [Brocade paper]. S. Nicolaus. S.l. [likely German lands], s.n., s.a. [likely 18th century]. [11.0 x 6.3 cm], [1] f. metal-cut, with additional color added by hand. Rubbing, wrinkling, spotting, and edge wear.
 
 
Unrecorded 18th-century devotional print depicting St. Nicolas of Bari (c. 270-343; a.k.a., Nicolas of Myra)—with his crozier and three golden balls—within an elaborate baroque frame. The print is notable for its method of manufacture, having been produced in a manner similar to that used in making Brokatpapier (“brocade paper”), a specialty of 18th-century Augsburg.
 
The image was produced by carving a metal plate in the manner of a woodcut. The plate was printed in roller press, leaving the design deeply embossed in the paper. Brokatpapier was made by printing the image with a sheet of metal leaf interposed between plate and paper, which resulted in a shimmering metallic image. 
 
In this St. Nicholas print, the image appears green, which is the result either of using green pigment in place of metal foil or possibly of a copper alloy oxidizing. Daubs of blood red, yellow, and darker green pigment were added hand to enliven the design (as is often the case, these pigments were applied quite haphazardly).
 
Decorated paper of this sort is today typically found as endpapers or wrapper in books from the period, but it could be used for many purposes, including the production of devotional images, as seen here.