INCUNABULA: The Nuremberg Chronicle by Anton Koberger, 1493 SOLD FOR €35,000 at hammer
One of the most important German incunables (a book printed before 1501) and the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century made a hammer price of €35,000 at Purcell Auctioneers in Birr today. The Nuremberg Chronicle by Anton Koberger dates to 1493, the very first edition Latin in Gothic Rotunda type. A Pictorial History of the World, the Nuremberg Chronicle was written over several years by the doctor and book collector, Hartmann Schedel, who was commissioned by two Nuremberg merchants. It was originally published in Latin in an edition of around 1400-1500. The Chronicle also incorporates geographical and historical information on European countries and towns. The narrative is divided into 11 parts – the so-called world ages, and is profusely illustrated by images of biblical and historical events, and topographical views of towns and countries in Europe and the Middle East, including Jerusalem and Byzantium. It contains the bookplate of The Right Honourable Robert Henry Meade 1879 (Meade GCB, was the second son of the 3rd Earl of Clanwilliam and Lady Elizabeth Herbert. Clanwilliam, an Irish peer, had served as Private Secretary to Lord Castlereagh and subsequently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.).