Nuremberg and Augsburg Chronicles

The Nuremberg Chronicle was created from 1493 to 1497 in Germany. Commissioned by Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kemmermeister, the 600-page book tells the history of the world as it was believed at that time. Illustrated with more than 1,800 woodcut images. In the years following release of Nuremberg Chronicle, an Augsburg printer named Johann Schönsperger abridged the text, commissioned woodcuts largely copied from the earlier book, and released a smaller format, undercutting the price of the original. Augsburg Chronicle can be argued to be among the earliest examples of theft of intellectual property.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.