Buch der Natur

Title

Buch der Natur

Type

incunabula

Creator

Konrad von Megenberg, 1309-1374

Thomas, de Cantimpré, approximately 1200-approximately 1270

Bämler, Johann, approximately 1430-1503

Date

1481

Description

Illustrated with 12 full-page woodcuts, expertly colored in contemporary hand. The first woodcut shows Christ with a chemist and doctor, rendered in contour lines with a suggestion of architectural background. The second is a stunning depiction of Earth and the seven spheres which separate it from the Heavens. The following eight woodcuts depict various forms of animal, fauna and insects followed by an expertly rendered full-page woodcut portrait of a bishop in full regalia. And lastly, a woodcut depicts several grotesque and morphed human figures, echoing the apocryphal images of Mandeville's travels. Each chapter begins with a large decorative woodcut initial and the rest of the text has a three line initial letters in outline.

Place

Augsburg

Publisher

Augsburg, Johann Bämler, 20 Aug. (Montag vor S. Bartholomaeus) 1481.

Identifier

https://lccn.loc.gov/48035378