Wunderkammer
Wunderkammer
Wunderkammer. Herz der Bibliophilie: Glanzlichter aus dem Spiegelkabinett des 16. Jahrhunderts. By Dr. Carsten Scholz and Dr. h. c. Heribert Tenschert.
Catalogue 90. 2 Volumes. Folio, illustrated hardcover. 960 pages, more than 930 colour illustrations. Text in German with summaries in English. Full descriptions in English or French are available upon request.
You can view the digital version of this catalogue here.
Our new catalogue 90 “Wunderkammer” is dedicated to the bibliophily of the 16th century, which it presents in its highlights as well as in representative breadth. Like the cabinets of curiosities or “wonder rooms” of the sixteenth century, which were meant to dazzle their visitors and fill them with a sense of wonder, our latest catalogue presents an enchanting selection of the highlights of that century's book art.
While the specimens described herein could be categorised by their marvellous features alone: manuscripts, impressions on vellum (21!), illuminated and illustrated books, exquisite bindings, first editions, and distinguished provenances – these alone do not sufficiently capture the ways in which these books, all in rare or even unique, encapsulate the culture of their time. Instead, our catalogue tells the stories of 125 individual books, portraying them as crystallisation points of sixteenth century book art, while simultaneously pointing far beyond themselves.
