Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Nuremberg Chronicle leaf with woodcut illustrations, C0398, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Donated by Phillip Teigen in 2014.

Processing Information

Processing and finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner from October - November 2023.

Historical Information

The Liber Chronicarum, also known as the Nuremberg Chronicle, was published in Nuremberg, Germany by Anton Koberger in 1493 and is considered one of the most important German incunabula and the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century. Written in Latin by German physician and humanist Hartmann Schedel, the Nuremberg Chronicle uses both text and images to present a history of the Christian world from its creation through the present day of the early 1490s. Koberger's shop printed the Latin edition between May 1492 and October 1493 and a later German language edition was commissioned and published between January and December 1493. Both editions contain over 1800 images created by Nuremberg artists Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff from roughly 640 woodblocks.

The oldest form of printmaking, woodblock printing, or woodcut, is a relief process in which a design is cut into the surface of a wooden block, leaving raised areas that are then inked and printed onto paper. Since the cut areas are recessed, the ink only adheres to the raised design areas. Additionally, the woodcut's printed design appears on the paper in reverse of the original cut into the wooden block.

When the movable-type printing press was introduced to Western Europe by German Johannes Gutenberg circa 1455 it led to immediate and rapid productivity in the craft and business of printing. The term incunabula, which comes from the Latin meaning "swaddling, clothes, cradle", is used to refer to these early books printed between 1455 - 1501, or those "in the cradle" of the printed word. German printmaker Anton Koberger established a large and profitable printing business in Nuremberg by the 1490s, running twenty presses, and helped make the city one of the most prolific centers of incunabula printing.

Scope and Content

Single leaf from Folio CXVII of the Nuremberg Chroncile featuring woodcut illustrations. One page shows images of six Roman Emperors under the heading "Linea Imperatom" and one page shows images of seven individuals, all likely significant Roman figures. All text and images are printed in black and white.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other materials related to the Middle Ages in Europe, such as the Bernard Brenner brass rubbings collection .

The Rare Books Collection in Mullen Library, part of Special Collections at the Catholic University of America, holds a large collection of over 100 incunabula.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Books -- History -- 1450-1600
• Incunabula
• Koberger, Anton, approximately 1440-1513
• Manuscripts
• Manuscripts, Medieval
• Middle Ages
• Schedel, Hartmann, 1440-1514
• Teigen, Philip M.
• Wood engravings