AUTHOR: HARTMANN SCHEDEL

LANGUAGE: LATIN

DATE: 1493

PAGE #: 763

REPRODUCTION DIMENSIONS: 11.25 X 8.75 IN

HISTORY/DESCRIPTION: THE NUREMBERG CHRONICLE IS AN ILLUSTRATED BIBLICAL PARAPHRASE, AND WORLD HISTORY, THAT FOLLOWS HUMAN HISTORY AS IT RELATES TO THE BIBLE. IT INCLUDES THE HISTORIES OF A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT WESTERN CITIES. ITS WRITTEN IN LATIN BY HARTMANN SCHEDEL, WITH A GERMAN TRANSLATION BY GEORG ALT. BOTH THE LATIN AND GERMAN VERSIONS WERE PRINTED BY ANTON KOBERGER IN NUREMBERG, GERMANY. IT’S ONE OF THE FIRST BOOKS TO INTEGRATE ILLUSTRATIONS AND TEXT. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT 1400-1500 LATIN VERSIONS WERE PRINTED AND 700-1000 GERMAN VERSIONS WERE PRINTED. THE LARGER ILLUSTRATIONS WERE ALSO SOLD SEPARATELY AS PRINTS, OFTEN HAND COLORED WITH WATERCOLORS. TO LATIN SCHOLARS THE BOOK IS KNOWN AS LIBER CHRONICARUM. TO ENGLISH SPEAKERS, IT IS REFERRED TO AS THE NUREMBERG CHRONICLE, AFTER THE CITY IT WAS PUBLISHED IN TO GERMAN SPEAKERS IT IS CALLED DIE SCHEDELSCHE WELTCHRONIK IN HONOR OF THE AUTHOR.

HARTMANN SCHEDEL WAS A MEDICAL DOCTOR, HUMANIST, AND BOOK COLLECTOR. ACCORDING TO AN INVENTORY DONE IN 1498, SCHEDEL’S PERSONAL LIBRARY CONTAINED 370 MANUSCRIPTS AND 670 PRINTED BOOKS. HE USED PASSAGES FROM THE CLASSICAL AND MEDIEVAL WORKS IN THIS COLLECTION TO COMPOSE THE TEXT OF THE NUREMBERG CHRONICLE. HE BORROWED MOST FREQUENTLY FROM ANOTHER HUMANIST CHRONICLE, CALLED SUPPLEMENTUM CHRONICARUM, BY JACOB PHILLIP FORESTI OF BERGAMO. IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT ABOUT NINETY PERCENT OF THE NUREMBERG'S TEXT IS PIECED TOGETHER FROM WORKS ON HUMANITIES, SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND THEOLOGY WHILE ONLY ABOUT TEN PERCENT OF THE CONTENT IS SCHEDEL’S ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.

REPRODUCTION DETAILS: OUR HARDCOVER BOOKS ARE MADE WITH REAL WOOD FOR THE INTERIOR OF THE FRONT AND BACK COVERS AS WELL AS THE SPINE. THE LEATHER IS A 4 OZ COWHIDE, FROM A SMALL SUPPLIER IN NORTH CAROLINA. THE LEATHER IS ADHERED TO THE COVERS WITH GLUE AND MOLDED INTO THE SHAPE AT THE HAND OF OUR LOCAL ARTISANS. THE SIGNATURES/PAGES ARE HANDSEWN USING A LIBRARY BINDING METHOD. THE SEWN BOOK IS BOUND WITH A STRONG ADHESIVE GLUE THAT MAKES THE BINDINGS LAST, ESPECIALLY FOR THE LARGER BOOKS. WE ALSO ADD A THICK MULL CLOTH TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE BINDING, DRYING IN BETWEEN EACH LAYER, A TRADITIONAL WAY TO MAKE THE BINDING STIFF, STRONG, AND RESILIENT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

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