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

Original incunabulum leaf XX (Folio 20) from the Nuremberg Chronicle of Hartmann Schedel, the first 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 beautiful colored woodcut of Folio XX shows on the recto side the illustration of Nineveh. Nineveh was the flourishing capital of the Assyrian Empire and was the home of King Sennacherib, the King of Assyria.

On the verso side of this folio an extensive family tree is depicted. The family tree that has been illustrated is of the family of Abraham. The genealogy of Abraham appears in Genesis 5, Genesis 10:1-7, 20, 22-23, 31-32, and Genesis 11.

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

Dimensions: 45 x 33,5 cm

Good condition, small tear in white lower margin restored.