Breydenbach | Die heyligen reyssen gen Jherusalem, Mainz, 1486, modern vellum

Bernhard von Breydenbach

Peregrinatio in terram sanctam [German] Die heyligen reyssen gen Jherusalem. Mainz: Erhard Reuwich, 21 June 1486

Chancery folio (274 x 188mm.), 159 leaves (of 180), [a-b⁸ c^2+2+2+2 d-e² f-h²⁺² i-s⁸ t⁶ v²⁺²⁺² x-z A-C⁸], 41-42 lines, gothic type, first leaf with large woodcut on verso with some hand-colouring, first initial in blue on a gold ground within a green and red frame (somewhat rubbed), other initials in red or blue, red initial-strokes, woodcut illustrations (including folding views, many WITH HAND-COLOURING), woodcut printer's device below colophon, modern vellum, occasional staining, a few paper repairs, folding woodcuts with creases and repairs, view of Venice (quire [c]) lacking folding extension (supplied in hand-coloured facsimile), view of Modon soiled and somewhat repaired, right hand page of Crete woodcut (quire [g]) lacking and supplied in hand-coloured facsimile, woodcut of Rhodes (quire [h]) lacking and supplied in hand-coloured facsimile, extension of the view of the Holy Land (quire [v]) lacking and supplied in hand-coloured facsimile, lacking leaves [i]1 and [i]7-8 and [z]3 and [C]4-5, small repaired tear at foot of [x]1

FIRST GERMAN EDITION of Breydenbach's description of his voyage to the Holy Land from Venice via Cyprus, which was the first printed account of a contemporary voyage, employing the relatively new medium of print to describe this pilgrimage though both word and image, and describing the confrontation between the Christian and Muslim states at the time, as well as more practical information for future pilgrims and travellers. Breydenbach, a cleric from Mainz, employed the artist Reuwich to accompany him on his voyage in 1483-1484; the text was first printed in Latin earlier in 1486 and was also translated into Dutch in 1488. The folding views depict Venice, Parenzo, Corfu, Modon, and Candia.

The book was professionally rebound and repaired recently, with the missing sections of the woodcuts printed from polymer plates and hand-coloured with watercolour to match the original sections. The conservation report is available on request.

LITERATURE:

ISTC ib01193000; Elizabeth Ross, Picturing experience in the early printed book: Breydenbach's Peregrinatio from Venice to Jerusalem (Penn State University Press, 2014)

PROVENANCE:

J.R. Wolff, signature on flyleaf; Henry Faul, geologist (1920-1981)