Author: Schedel Hartmann, 1440 - 1514
Title: Das Buch der Chroniken und Geschichten mit figuren und pildnussen.
Title in English: Book of Chronicles and Stories with Figures and Images.
Published: Augsburg, Johann Schonsperger, 18 September 1496.
Format: Folio. CCCXXII (recte CCCXVII) n. 11. with woodcut title and intermediary title plus c. 1800 partly full- or double-page woodcuts after Michael Wohlgemuth and Hans Pleydenwurff in the text, 1 blank l., double-page woodcut map, 11 nn. index 11., 1 blank l. (332 11. in all).
Binding: in a contemporary Leipzig binding of blind-tooled calf over wooden boards with two clasps, worn and with repairs, lacking brass center - and cornerpieces, ties brittle.
First edition of the pirated and downsized Augsburg version of the Nuremberg Chronicle, much rarer than the two original larger editions printed by Anton Koberger at Nuremberg in 1493. The Bavarian State Library at Munich only has one copy, while the two copies held by Augsburg's State and Municipal Library, albeit coloured, are incomplete, one of them lacking the map, the other the map's right-hand half. - Johann Schonsperger had the 1493 Nuremberg illustrations sympathetically redone in a smaller format by the ablest woodcutters in his shop.
A fine copy, complete and with good margins, some waterstaining in parts; some soiling, old ms. entries and library stamp to title-page; tear to 2 11.; otherwise only very slight marginal damage; a few old ms. marginalia; the attractive period Leipzig binding worn and with repairs, lacking brass centre- and corner-pieces, ties brittle.
Reference: GW M40779; Hain 14511; Goff S 310; BSB-Ink S 198; Hubay 1862; IGI 8831; Klebs 890.2; Pellechet 10355; Schreiber 5206; Voullieme, Berlin 332; not in BMC, Proctor, Oates, and Polain. For the world map, see Campbell, The Earliest Printed Maps 1472-1500, 221, and Shirley, The Mapping of the World 1472-1700, 20.
Book of Chronicles and Stories by the German historian Hartmann Schedel (1440–1514) describes various countries and their histories from the beginning of the world to the end of the 15th century. The chronicle is famous for its illustrations - wooden engravings by graphic artists Michael Wolgemut (1434–1519) and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (1460–1494). The book is decorated with around 1,800 engravings that complement the information with scenes from the cities described and portraits of historical personalities. Schedel’s chronicle is one of the first printed sources of Lithuanian history. It includes a description of Lithuania: its geographical location, climate, and customs. Lithuania can be seen in the map of Central Europe. The book was published in Latin and German: in Nuremberg in 1493, and in Augsburg in 1496 and 1497.
Reference: "The Collection of Lawyer Jaunius Gumbis: the Past Preserved in Books". Museum and Collector - 7. Vilnius: National Museum of Lithuania, 2018, p. 31.
Published: "The Collection of Lawyer Jaunius Gumbis: the Past Preserved in Books". Museum and Collector - 7. Vilnius: National Museum of Lithuania, 2018, p. 30-35.
Exhibitions: "The Collection of Lawyer Jaunius Gumbis: the Past Preserved in Books", September 3, 2018 – October 21, 2018.
Photographs:
2nd: Map of Central Europe . In the map, Lithuania is marked as Littaw. Drawn by Hieronymus Münzer and based on the map of Nicolaus Cusanus.
3rd: View and Description of Lithuania.