FRIDOLIN, Stephanus Der Schatzbehalter der wahren Reichtümer des Heils. 8 November 1491Nürnberg,J. Koberger,folio, loose in cloth covers and slipcase, [338 (of 354)] ff. (lacking 14 text ff. and 2 blanks; some wormholes in 1st lvs, some soiling,...
Estimation :
6000 / 8000
Adjudication :
7500 €
Description
a few sm. def., some 35 ff. washed). Good but incomplete copy, partly rubricated in red and blue. S.w.a.f.
1st and only ed. of the best illustrated German incunable, publ. in only 150 copies, the “Treasure chest of the true riches of the saints and eternal salvation”. Made-up copy from 2 incomplete ones, ill. with 78 (of 96) full-page woodcuts. It was written by Stephan Fridolin, spiritual guide and confessor to the Poor Clares at Nürnberg, almost certainly at the behest of the nuns and their abbess, Caritas Pirckheimer, sister to Willibald. The text is based on Scripture and tells the story of the life and passion of Christ in 100 events; the accompanying illustrations by Michael Wolgemut (1434-1519, Master of Dürer) and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (1420-1472) were intended to impress the story more firmly on the mind of the audience, specifically those unable to read, as Fridolin states in the preface. It thus joins other late medieval works popularizing Scripture in text and image, such as the blockbook "Biblia Pauperum". In his discussion of each woodcut, Fridolin explicates the literal and metaphysical meaning of the image, thus giving the modern reader an invaluable insight into medieval interpretation of imagery. Printed in a bastarda type in 2 cols of 40-43 ll. Libr. stamp (Breslau duplicate). Ref. ISTC is00306000. GW 10329. Goff S-306. Polain 1521. IDL 1868. BMC II:434. BSB München F-263. Not in BnF. Joined : Facs. ed. (1972), from the series “The printed sources of Western art”. (2 vol.)
1st and only ed. of the best illustrated German incunable, publ. in only 150 copies, the “Treasure chest of the true riches of the saints and eternal salvation”. Made-up copy from 2 incomplete ones, ill. with 78 (of 96) full-page woodcuts. It was written by Stephan Fridolin, spiritual guide and confessor to the Poor Clares at Nürnberg, almost certainly at the behest of the nuns and their abbess, Caritas Pirckheimer, sister to Willibald. The text is based on Scripture and tells the story of the life and passion of Christ in 100 events; the accompanying illustrations by Michael Wolgemut (1434-1519, Master of Dürer) and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (1420-1472) were intended to impress the story more firmly on the mind of the audience, specifically those unable to read, as Fridolin states in the preface. It thus joins other late medieval works popularizing Scripture in text and image, such as the blockbook "Biblia Pauperum". In his discussion of each woodcut, Fridolin explicates the literal and metaphysical meaning of the image, thus giving the modern reader an invaluable insight into medieval interpretation of imagery. Printed in a bastarda type in 2 cols of 40-43 ll. Libr. stamp (Breslau duplicate). Ref. ISTC is00306000. GW 10329. Goff S-306. Polain 1521. IDL 1868. BMC II:434. BSB München F-263. Not in BnF. Joined : Facs. ed. (1972), from the series “The printed sources of Western art”. (2 vol.)
