Nuremberg Chronicle — Folio LXXIX (79), 1493 - Hartmann Schedel

An original leaf from the first German edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle, printed in 1493 by Anton Koberger. Folio LXXIX pairs hand-coloured woodcut portraits with German letterpress. Schedel’s world history ranges across classical, biblical and ecclesiastical sources, and the two sides of this leaf show how readily it moves from one tradition to another. It appeared in the same year as the Latin edition, bringing the illustrated history to readers of German.

Among the figures are Arcesilaus, the Greek philosopher associated with the New Academy, and a succession of Roman commanders. The names include Torquatus, Decius, Aemilius and Lucius Papirius. Elsewhere on the leaf, portraits of Seleucid kings sit alongside figures from Jewish history, including the Maccabean brothers and the high priests named Onias. The close placement of the portraits and the text invites the reader to follow these separate histories together.

The small woodcuts reward a closer look. Dress, headgear and gesture distinguish the figures, and the hand colouring gives them presence among the tightly set lines of type. The sheet measures 43 × 29.4 cm. The paper is in good condition with some small spots.