Rare 500-year-old book turns up at Utah museum
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BOOK dealer Ken Sanders has seen a lot of nothing in his decades appraising "rare" finds pulled from attics and basements, storage sheds and closets.
Sanders often employs "the fine art of letting people down gently."
But on a recent Saturday while volunteering at a fundraiser for the small town museum in Sandy, Utah, just south of Salt Lake, Sanders got the surprise of a lifetime.
"Late in the afternoon, a man sat down and started unwrapping a book from a big plastic sack, informing me he had an old book and that it might be worth some money."
Then he produced a partial copy of the 500-year-old "Nuremberg Chronicle."
The German language edition printed by Anton Koberger and published in 1493 is a world history beginning in biblical times. It's considered to be one of the earliest and most lavishly illustrated books.
"I was just absolutely astounded. I was flabbergasted," Sanders said.
The book's owner has declined to be identified, but Sanders said it was passed down to the man by his great uncle and had been gathering dust in his attic for decades.
Because of the cotton bond paper it was printed on, Sanders said the remaining pages have been well-preserved.
"Barring further calamity or disaster, it will last another 500 years," he said.
But what's it worth? Not much. It is believed there are several hundred copies in circulation worldwide.
San Francisco-based antiquities book dealer John Windle said if this copy were in mint condition and fully intact, it could be worth up to US$1 million.
Because of this book's tattered state, Windle said it's worth less than US$50,000.
Sanders often employs "the fine art of letting people down gently."
But on a recent Saturday while volunteering at a fundraiser for the small town museum in Sandy, Utah, just south of Salt Lake, Sanders got the surprise of a lifetime.
"Late in the afternoon, a man sat down and started unwrapping a book from a big plastic sack, informing me he had an old book and that it might be worth some money."
Then he produced a partial copy of the 500-year-old "Nuremberg Chronicle."
The German language edition printed by Anton Koberger and published in 1493 is a world history beginning in biblical times. It's considered to be one of the earliest and most lavishly illustrated books.
"I was just absolutely astounded. I was flabbergasted," Sanders said.
The book's owner has declined to be identified, but Sanders said it was passed down to the man by his great uncle and had been gathering dust in his attic for decades.
Because of the cotton bond paper it was printed on, Sanders said the remaining pages have been well-preserved.
"Barring further calamity or disaster, it will last another 500 years," he said.
But what's it worth? Not much. It is believed there are several hundred copies in circulation worldwide.
San Francisco-based antiquities book dealer John Windle said if this copy were in mint condition and fully intact, it could be worth up to US$1 million.
Because of this book's tattered state, Windle said it's worth less than US$50,000.
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