ID 1249845
Lot 133 | SCHEDEL, Hartmann (1440-1514)
Estimate value
£ 60 000 – 80 000
Liber chronicarum. Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, 12 July 1493.
A fine coloured copy of the first edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century. Albrecht Dürer, the printer Koberger's godson, is thought to have contributed to the celebrated series of c.1800 woodcuts while working for the workshop of Michael Wolgemut. The publication history of the Nuremberg Chronicle is perhaps the best documented of any book printed in this period: the contracts between Schedel and his partners Schreyer and Kammermaister, and between Schedel and the artists, all survive in the Nuremberg Stadtsbibliothek, as do detailed manuscript exemplars of both the Latin and the German editions (see A. Wilson, The Making of the Nuremberg Chronicle, Amsterdam: 1976). The Nuremberg Chronicle also includes two double-page maps: a world map (Shirley 19) based on Mela's Cosmographia (1482), and a map of northern and central Europe by Hieronymus Munzer (1437-1508) after Nicolas Khyrpffs. The world map is one of only three 15th-century maps showing Portuguese knowledge of the Gulf of Guinea of about 1470. The map of Europe is closely associated with Nicolas of Cusa's Eichstatt map, with which it is thought to share a common manuscript source of c. 1439-54. It is therefore claimed to be the first modern map of this region to appear in print. Although published later than the map of Germany in the 1482 Ulm Ptolemy, it was constructed earlier (Campbell, The Earliest Printed Maps, 1472-1500, 1987). HC *14508; BMC II, 437; CIBN S-161; BSB-Ink. S-195; Bod-inc. S-108; Schreiber 5203; Goff S-307; ISTC is00307000.
Imperial folio (420 x 300mm). 325 leaves (of 328, without blank 55/6 and 61/5-6; fos. 9/3.4, 25/1, 53/6, 54/5 and possibly others supplied from another copy), quire 55 bound at end, fos. CCLVIIII-CCLXI blank except for printed headlines. 1809 woodcut illustrations printed from 645 blocks (S.C. Cockerell's count, Some German woodcuts of the fifteenth century, 1897, pp.35-6), by Michael Wolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff and their workshop, including Albrecht Dürer, lombards, woodcuts coloured by a near-contemporary hand, 14-line initial opening text in interlocking red and blue with purple penwork decoration, other initial spaces left blank, red capital strokes. (Quires 4 and 5 rehinged, some leaves remargined at hinge and upper or lower margin with some loss [primarily of headline, replaced in pen-and-ink], section of Europe map expertly repaired in facsimile, some light browning, occasional spotting, light staining, or minor repairs, a few small wormholes in first quires.) A remboitage of 17th-century pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, tooled in blind with rolls, newer large brass cornerpieces, 5 central bosses, 2 fore-edge clasps (front cover rubbed free of tooling). Provenance: annotated throughout in Arabic – [sold Christie’s, 1 June 1999, lot 1].
Artist: | Hartmann Schedel (1440 - 1514) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Western Europe, Germany, Europe |
Auction house category: | Antiquarian books, Books and manuscripts, Printed books |
Artist: | Hartmann Schedel (1440 - 1514) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Western Europe, Germany, Europe |
Auction house category: | Antiquarian books, Books and manuscripts, Printed books |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
---|---|---|
Preview |
| |
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
More from Creator
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.