Hartmann Schedel / Michael Wolgemut/ Wilhelm Pleydenwurff - The Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum) - 1493

One of the first printed illustrations of a chess player!

Original incunabulum leaf LXII (62) from the Nuremberg Chronicle of Hartmann Schedel, the Latin edition from 1493.

An incunabulum (cradle print) is a book printed in Europe before 1 January 1501, when the printing press was still in its infancy, and of which the text is set in movable type. They are now rarely seen on the market.

The Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum) by Hartmann Schedel is one of the most famous and best illustrated incunabula. The beautiful woodcuts were made by Michael Wohlgemut (1434/37-1519) and his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (1450-1494), a teacher of Albrecht Dürer. Dürer probably also contributed to the execution of many of the woodcuts for this incunabulum.

The beautifully coloured woodcut on the recto side includes a stunning portrayal of Bologna.

On the verso side 3 beautiful large illustrations are portrayed:
1. Byzantium: Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony that was built on the site that later became Constantinople, and then Istanbul.
2. Two Babylonian kings are shown: Merodach (allegedly the first king of Babylon) and Nebuchadnezzar.
3. Xerxes, the philosopher, in cap and gown, with his chessmen and chessboard, as evidence of his invention.

This sheet with Latin text includes imaginary views of Bologna on recto and Byzantium on verso. Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony that was built on the site that later became Constantinople, and then Istanbul. Also on verso are the portraits of two Babylonian kings and Xerxes, the philosopher.


This is not a facsimile edition, but an original leaf printed in the 15th century - so 531 years old!
Rare in coloured version.

Dimensions: 43 x 29,4 cm.

Good condition, some light brown spots (mainly in white margin) and some signs of age, a small wormhole, old annotations.