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Details
COLOGNE CHRONICLES -- Die Cronica van der hilliger Stat van Coellen. Cologne: Johann Koelhoff the younger, 23 August 1499.
Median 2° (296 x 201mm). Collation: \Kp\kA-B6 (A1r title, A1v blank, A2r tabula); A-I6 K10 L-Z6 a-d6 e4 f-z6 aa-nn6 (A1r second title, A1v blank, A2r text, nn4r colophon, nn4v-6 blank). 351 leaves (of 368, lacking \Kp\kA, A1.6, K3, P6, mm6, nn6; one leaf supplied, retaining coloured woodcut original to the volume). 49-51 lines, plus one- or two-line headings. Types 2:290G (major headings and titles), 5:140G (minor headings), 4:96G (text). Woodcuts coloured by a contemporary hand, lombard initials, woodcut border pieces, MS initials, where required, in red, red capital strokes. (\Kp\kB6 and 8 other leaves defective, 27 leaves with repairs or tears with a little loss, a few headlines shaved, some browning and staining, several hinges strengthened.) 16th-century German blindstamped pigskin over wooden boards, modern red edges (modern endpapers). Provenance: a few early annotations in German -- Thomas Edward Watson (bookplate; by descent to the present owners).
FIRST EDITION of the first history of Cologne. The Cologne Chronicles contains a famous passage on the history of printing (fo. CCCxi), which claims to be based on the account of Ulrich Zell, Cologne's first printer, who learned the art at Mainz in the 1460s. It discusses a precursor ("Vorbyldung") of printing coming from the Netherlands with the Donatus editions. In later centuries this was seized on as important evidence by those who believed Haarlem, not Mainz, to be the birthplace of printing. The City Council objected to certain passages in it and forbade distribution, resulting in its printer Koelhoff being forced to sell his house in order to cover the printing costs. To mitigate the Council's objections, some passages were excised and revised. One example is in fo. kk5, which in the original details the less-than-gallant behaviour of Peter Langhals toward Emperor Maximilian when Maximilian fell from his horse during a tournament. The leaf was cancelled, and the passage was revised to read that Langhals sprang off his horse and helped Maximilian to his feet again. The present copy has this (and K4-5, t3) in the early state. H *4989; GW 6688; BMC I, 299 (IB. 5073-74); Goff C-476; VK 324; Borchling & Claussen 312.
Median 2° (296 x 201mm). Collation: \K
FIRST EDITION of the first history of Cologne. The Cologne Chronicles contains a famous passage on the history of printing (fo. CCCxi), which claims to be based on the account of Ulrich Zell, Cologne's first printer, who learned the art at Mainz in the 1460s. It discusses a precursor ("Vorbyldung") of printing coming from the Netherlands with the Donatus editions. In later centuries this was seized on as important evidence by those who believed Haarlem, not Mainz, to be the birthplace of printing. The City Council objected to certain passages in it and forbade distribution, resulting in its printer Koelhoff being forced to sell his house in order to cover the printing costs. To mitigate the Council's objections, some passages were excised and revised. One example is in fo. kk5, which in the original details the less-than-gallant behaviour of Peter Langhals toward Emperor Maximilian when Maximilian fell from his horse during a tournament. The leaf was cancelled, and the passage was revised to read that Langhals sprang off his horse and helped Maximilian to his feet again. The present copy has this (and K4-5, t3) in the early state. H *4989; GW 6688; BMC I, 299 (IB. 5073-74); Goff C-476; VK 324; Borchling & Claussen 312.
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