Rare Latin engraving from the Nuremberg Chronicle, an incunabula or book printed before 1500. The book was written by Hartmann Schedel and printed by Anton Koberger less than forty years after the Gutenberg Bible was printed, and is one of the most extensively illustrated books of the 15th century. The text is a universal history of the Christian world from the beginning of times to the early 1400's, and the narrative is divided into 11 parts, with images of biblical and historical events and some of the first views of European towns and countries. Schedel (1440 - 1514) was a Nuremberg physician and humanist under commission from German merchants, and Koberger owned one of the largest printing houses in Germany at the time. The original woodcut illustrations were uncolored and a number of copies were hand-colored by contemporary German artists. The book was printed in Latin and German; there were only 1240 copies of the Latin edition and about 1580 copies of the German edition, so these engravings are rare. It is possible that Albrecht Durer was involved with the creation of the engravings. There were two artists who oversaw the design and illustration of the Chronicle and Durer was an apprentice to one of the artists. Durer trained in that workshop from 1486 to 1489, when many of the early designs for the illustrations were created. This engraving (folio XXIII) depicts Damascus under siege during the Second Crusades. Christian soldiers under King Baldwin III of Jerusalem attacked Damascus and were soundly beaten. It is uncolored, as issued, and printed on both sides; if you look from the front, you can see Latin text printed on the back. This is an original page from the Chronicle, not a copy, and it is under glass. The frame size is 22 3/4 x 17 1/4 in. wide and the sight size is 14 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. wide.