The University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Archives & Special Collections (A&SC) is thrilled to announce the new acquisition of a Nuremberg Chronicle to the collection! This groundbreaking publication is one of the most well-known and well documented incunabula (books printed before 1500) in the world.
Published by the successful printer Anton Koberger (1440/45-1513) and compiled by historian and humanist Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514), the book itself is a selective encyclopedia of the world that follows the Christian seven ages of history. Starting with God creating the universe, the book goes on to describe biblical, mythical, and historical events; genealogies of important people such as kings, queens, and popes; and accounts of around 100 cities.
What makes the book truly notable, however, are the lavish illustrations that accompany the descriptions. The Nuremberg Chronicle was the first European book to really take advantage of the potential for illustration made possible by the printing press. The book contains an unprecedented 1,800 woodcuts produced from 645 blocks.
The Chronicle was one of the most ambitious printing projects of its time. It was first published July 1493 in Latin with an estimated 1,500 copies—of which one is now part of A&SC. A second edition in German soon followed in December of 1493 of about 1,000 copies. Many copies in both Latin and German are still extant today, however, they are not all the same. While many copies remain in pristine black and white, for example, other copies have some degree of contemporary hand coloring. The copy in A&SC features a hand-colored map of northern and central Europe and a number of marginalia notes from previous owners.
