Theatrum Lanienae Coloniensis, or Bloody Stage - First Edition - 1694

Rare first edition. Gereon Hesselmann, syndic of the city of Cologne, was an opponent of Nikolaus Gülich, leader of the Cologne citizens who rose up in 1680 against the city council, which had prevailed through corruption and nepotism ("Klüngel"). "On June 2, 1683, the Cologne citizens' militias and guilds took up arms and occupied the town hall in order to detain the councilors whom they believed had broken their oaths and word. Nikolaus Gülich was led in a triumphal procession to the town hall, where he and his followers took power. That same day, the city gates were closed and a hunt for alleged opponents of the Cologne citizenry began, in the later course of which Gereon Hesselmann, an opponent of Nikolaus Gülich, was sentenced to death and executed on the Heumarkt on August 12, 1683" (Kölner Stadtimpressionen, On the life and work of the Cologne rebel Nikolaus Gülich). - German-language text with mostly Latin accompanying text in the margins. Pages in excellent condition for the age, bound in a cardboard cover, spine missing, but not loose, very good collector's condition