Sold on December 11, this was a famous illustrated history of the world produced by the printer, publisher and bookseller Anton Koberger in Cologne in 1493.
Exhibiting fine contemporary colour throughout, it contained 1809 woodcut illustrations produced by Michael Wolgemut, his stepson Wilhelm Pleydenwurff and other craftsmen – among whom was one Albrecht Dürer, a godson of Koberger.
There were, in fact, only 640 woodblocks cut and many were used several times for different purposes. Principal among them, however, are 29 double-page town and city views, eight other full-page woodcuts and double-page maps of the world and Europe.
This great work also presents many details of daily life in the 15th century: carpenters with their tools, astronomers and their instruments, archers, bridges, furniture, windmills, ships, beds, houses and fortifications, weapons, ferries, books, dogs, horses, costumes and much more.
The binding of this Latin edition (a German text version was also issued) is one of blind and silver-stamped and ruled pigskin over wooden boards produced at the time by a local craftsman known as the ‘Weltchronik-Meister’.
