First appearing in the Pugillus Facetiarum (Strasbourg, 1608) the image of the nun — the armes nonnelein — looking enviously at the lovers kissing under the tree was taken up by the album amicorum painters, the glass-painters and even issued as a medal…(the so-called Coburger Kusstaler) Hijacked by…

The manifold temptations to which the student is subjected, the battle for his soul indeed, is the subject of an engraving signed with Jacob von der Heyden’s monogram and published in the 2nd edition of the Pugillus orSpeculum Cornelianum (Strasbourg, 1618). It shows the student at his desk,…

or is it a perfectly ordinary-sized man and a giantess? Another popular album amicorum motif which seems, indeed, to have originated in the albums — the earliest I’ve found is dated 1598 [BELOW] –which was then picked up by the print-books (“Vita Corneliana”, 1624 BELOW) — and has…

Another popular method of assessing suitors’ suitability is to pass them through a sieve — the acceptable candidate remains in the sieve.Again, the motif predates the albums Woman sieves fools/men Men sieve women

The only painted miniature in the recently digitised album of Gerhard Horst, Hs. 35153 in the Library of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (dated entries 1607-11) depicts a large devil sitting on a close-stool devouring soldiers and excreting them as priests — a monk sprinkles holy water over the issue.…

Though you need more patience than at speed-dating! Men fishing for women, women fishing for men — the bait varies (see below). The earliest I’ve found it in the albums is 1578, but not found any 17C examples — so seems a short-lived motif limited to the final…