Books

12" x 17" [30cm x 43cm] incunabulum folio leaf, museum framed. Highly desirable leaf from the 1493 Latin 'Liber Chronicarum', featuring a half-page woodcut of Paris [Parisium], in Near Fine condition. Deaccessioned from the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, Cornell University. In a handsome ruby red and gilt wood frame [13.25" x 18"] with museum notes taped to the back. Leaf appears to be laid on, unmounted (frame is sealed at back). Wonderfully preserved with just a bit of age-toning to the extreme edges and minor waviness to the surface (unmounted). Woodcut by Pleydenwurff and Wohlgemut, Latin text by Hartmann Schedel. Recto is half-page woodcut of Mainz [Megundio] with Latin text above. The Liber Chronicarum, bound, fetches $150,000 or more at auction; the Paris leaf, with its stylized view of the city, the Seine, and a 1400s caravel ship in the foreground, is a particularly sought-after leaf. Note: There are artists specializing in applying period-style watercolor to such woodcuts, greatly enhancing their visual appeal. I have included a sample of a colored version for reference. *Photos may show distortions (lens curvature, angled view, reflections, etc.) as the item is under glass.

Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history from the biblical creation to the 15th century, authored by Hartmann Schedel.