In-folio. 425x280mm. Stiff vellum binding, label with title on the flat spine, End-papers renewed. Leaves 325: [20, Title and Tabula], 300 numbered I-CCXCIX - [1], [5 'De Sarmacia Regione']. There are two Colophons, on sheet 266r (4 June 1493) and on sheet 300v ("Anthonius Koberger Nuremberge impressit", 12 July 1493). Leaves CCLIX-CCLXI, with current numbering and title, are blank as they have been reserved for annotations and additions by the reader, as shown on leaf CCLVIIIv.
Over 1800 figures of different sizes printed in woodcut in the text. A large map of Europe on two unfolded pages (299v-300r). On the recto of the first unnumbered leaf, the title printed in woodcut. Last blank leaf is missing.
Slight brown spots on the world map, traces of dampstain on the central part of the map of Europe. Leaf 74, little hole in the woodcut of Pavia; leaf 75, small lack on the upper right corner; leaf 169, reinforcement on the inner edge ; leaf 175, little hole in the text; leaf 184, little cut; small restoration on the lower margin of leaf 206. Reinforcements in some initial leaves and in the last five sheets, with traces of humidity. Overall a good copy.
First Latin edition. Very rare beautifully illustrated incunabulum. A masterpiece in the history of printing, the work contains more than 1800 superb illustrations engraved in woodcut by Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. Besides occupying a key place in the history of book illustration, the Nuremberg Chronicle offers a wonderful insight into Renaissance knowledge and humanistic understanding of the 15th-century world. The "Nuremberg Chronicle" is a year-by-year account of important events in world history from creation to the year of publication, including references to contemporary events such as the invention of printing at Mainz, the exploration of Africa, and a possible trip to America in 1483 mentioned on folio 290v.
van Egmond: “As a product of humanism, the Liber chronicarum is a synthesis of religion, empiricism and classical antiquity. It is no wonder that of all people Schedel published the famous chronicle of world history. After all, he lived right in the center of humanism: Nuremburg. Schedel grew up in the transitional period from the handwritten to the printed book and became an ardent book collector. … The Nuremburg humanism was characterized by research into scientific, astronomical and astrological issues. … In the Liber chronicarum Schedel attempts to join together the Biblical and profane history, with lots of emphasis on the descriptions of cities and countries. For instance, in the various eras in world history he has the founding of cities run parallel with Biblical history; that is why the descriptions and pictures of cities are spread throughout the entire book.”
The Nuremberg Chronicle is celebrated for its beautiful and numerous woodcut illustrations: it contains numerous representations of cities, 29 on double page, a large plate with coats of arms (CLXXXIII-CLXXXIIII), a globe (XIII) and a map of Europe double page at the end. It also includes two important double-page maps: a fine world map based on Mela's Cosmographia of 1482 (see Shirley 19) and a map of northern and central Europe by Hieronymus Münzer (1437-1508) by Nicolas Khyrpffs. The world map is one of only three 15th-century maps showing Portuguese knowledge of the Gulf of Guinea from about 1470. It is therefore believed to be the first modern map of this region to appear in print (see Campbell, The Earliest Printed Maps, 1472-1500, 1987).
As often happened with books of this period, some woodcuts appear in the text more than once, with only the modification of the captions: the 1809 illustrations are impressed from 645 woodcuts, with numerous biblical scenes and portraits of saints, emperors, kings and princes: this copy includes on leaf 169v the famous portrait of "Pope Joan" ("Joannes Septimus"), which has been removed or defaced in many copies. The printer, Anton Koberger used nineteen already existing woodcuts from the Postillae (1481), while the other woodcuts came from the workshop of the artists Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff. It is believed that the young A. Durer, who was a student of Wolgemut from 1486 to 1489, also took part.
The author's name appears on leaf CCLXVIr: "collectum breui tempore auxilio doctoris hartmanni Schedel".