Also for sale: a first-edition 15th-century encyclopedia

Posted on December 10, 2020 at 2:23 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Not to take anything away from Isaac Newton’s notes, but they’re not the oldest item to hit auction blocks this month.

A first edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle — an encyclopedia that came out in the late 15th century — will go up for bid tomorrow.

According to Literary Hub, only 1,400 copies were originally made; of those, only 400 are believed to still exist — and not all of them are in full color, like the one headed to auction.

It’s expected to bring in $200,000 to $300,000, so most of us will have to content ourselves with admiring images of the Nuremberg Chronicle on the Bonham’s website.