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Liber chronicarum, in German: Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen. Translated from Latin by Georg Alt (c.1450-1510). Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 23 December 1493.
Details
SCHEDEL, Hartmann (1440-1514)
Liber chronicarum, in German: Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen. Translated from Latin by Georg Alt (c.1450-1510). Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 23 December 1493.
First edition in German of the Nuremberg Chronicle, rarer than the Latin edition with which it was planned simultaneously. Schedel’s world history starts with creation and extends to his contemporary era, extensively illustrated with woodcut portraits (many generic) and impressive city views by the artists Wolgemut and Pleydenwurff and a young Albrecht Dürer. The double-page view of Nuremberg is the first of the city in print, as is Basel and Ulm, and other city views are considerably larger and more detailed than any other printed image.
Koberger published Georg Alt's German translation of Schedel's world history five months after his Latin edition, printed in about half as many copies as the Latin (which had wider currency through Europe); that ratio is reflected in survival rates of the two editions. The same woodcuts were used in both editions, with minor variations in the placement of the smaller cuts, and a slightly condensed text, primarily in the Europa section. The original designs for the complicated lay-out of both editions have survived at Nuremberg, and a trial sheet discovered in the late 1990s showed that Koberger had first contemplated printing the German edition with his ninth German Bible type (cf. C. Reske, 'Eine neue Entdeckung zur Druckgeschichte der Schedelschen Weltchronik', Gutenberg-Jahrbuch, 1997, pp. 95-106). H *14510; BMC II, 437; CIBN S-163; BSB-Ink. S-197; Bod-Inc. S-110; Schreiber 5205; Klebs 890.1; Goff S-309; ISTC is00309000.
Imperial folio (457 x 303mm). 297 leaves (of 298, without 56⁄6 blank). Calligraphic woodcut title, c.1809 woodcut illustrations from 645 blocks (Sidney Cockerell's count for the Latin edition) by Michael Wolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff and their workshop, including the young Albrecht Dürer, and including double-page town views, 8 full-page cuts, a world map and a map of Europe by Hieronymus Münzer after Nicolas Khrypffs. (Small wormholes, mostly at beginning and end, occasional minor spotting/staining, neat repaired tear into image in 32⁄6, 51⁄1, and 53⁄4, minor thumb-soiling, maps and double-page views on guards.) 17-18th-century blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards, 2 fore-edge clasps, blue edges (a little rubbed and stained, minor wear at extremities). Provenance: Mattes Winter, royal public notary, gifting the book to his brother Hans Winter, of Wildenau (16th-century inscription on title) – Weida, Germany, Jesuit College (17th-century inscription on title) – early annotations shaved – ‘Duplum’, likely a duplicate from the Bavarian State Library.
Liber chronicarum, in German: Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen. Translated from Latin by Georg Alt (c.1450-1510). Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 23 December 1493.
First edition in German of the Nuremberg Chronicle, rarer than the Latin edition with which it was planned simultaneously. Schedel’s world history starts with creation and extends to his contemporary era, extensively illustrated with woodcut portraits (many generic) and impressive city views by the artists Wolgemut and Pleydenwurff and a young Albrecht Dürer. The double-page view of Nuremberg is the first of the city in print, as is Basel and Ulm, and other city views are considerably larger and more detailed than any other printed image.
Koberger published Georg Alt's German translation of Schedel's world history five months after his Latin edition, printed in about half as many copies as the Latin (which had wider currency through Europe); that ratio is reflected in survival rates of the two editions. The same woodcuts were used in both editions, with minor variations in the placement of the smaller cuts, and a slightly condensed text, primarily in the Europa section. The original designs for the complicated lay-out of both editions have survived at Nuremberg, and a trial sheet discovered in the late 1990s showed that Koberger had first contemplated printing the German edition with his ninth German Bible type (cf. C. Reske, 'Eine neue Entdeckung zur Druckgeschichte der Schedelschen Weltchronik', Gutenberg-Jahrbuch, 1997, pp. 95-106). H *14510; BMC II, 437; CIBN S-163; BSB-Ink. S-197; Bod-Inc. S-110; Schreiber 5205; Klebs 890.1; Goff S-309; ISTC is00309000.
Imperial folio (457 x 303mm). 297 leaves (of 298, without 56⁄6 blank). Calligraphic woodcut title, c.1809 woodcut illustrations from 645 blocks (Sidney Cockerell's count for the Latin edition) by Michael Wolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff and their workshop, including the young Albrecht Dürer, and including double-page town views, 8 full-page cuts, a world map and a map of Europe by Hieronymus Münzer after Nicolas Khrypffs. (Small wormholes, mostly at beginning and end, occasional minor spotting/staining, neat repaired tear into image in 32⁄6, 51⁄1, and 53⁄4, minor thumb-soiling, maps and double-page views on guards.) 17-18th-century blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards, 2 fore-edge clasps, blue edges (a little rubbed and stained, minor wear at extremities). Provenance: Mattes Winter, royal public notary, gifting the book to his brother Hans Winter, of Wildenau (16th-century inscription on title) – Weida, Germany, Jesuit College (17th-century inscription on title) – early annotations shaved – ‘Duplum’, likely a duplicate from the Bavarian State Library.
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