What's In Your Attic: A 1493 Copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle's?

PBS's Antiques Roadshow occasional appraiser, Ken Sanders got the surprise of his life recently, when he was volunteering at a fundraiser for a small town museum in Sandy, Utah. A man came in carrying a large plastic bag and told Sanders he had a really, really old book. Sanders, probably thinking to himself, how many times have I heard this before.

The unidentified gentleman started unwrapping the old book, and to Sanders surprise, produced a tattered, partial copy of the 500 year old Nuremberg Chronicle. The German language edition printed and published in 1493, is said to be a world history beginning in biblical times. It is considered to be one of the earliest and most lavishly illustrated books produced after the invention of the printing press.

"You don't expect to see a 5 century old book show up in Sandy, Utah", the astonished Sanders said. The books owner said the book was passed down to him by a great uncle and had been collecting dust in his attic for years.

The book which was printed on cotton bond paper, rather than wood pulp paper has been well preserved and could last another 500 years, barring any disaster.

Unfortunately, the monetary value of the book is said to be less than $50,000, because two-thirds of the pages are missing and there are supposedly several hundred copies of the Nuremberg Chronicle in circulation, worldwide. If completely intact and in mint condition, this rare find could be worth over a million dollars, a California antique dealer said.

Ken Sanders said it's not the monetary value of the book that's exciting to him, though. It's just having the opportunity to handle something from the beginning of the printed word and the book itself. With all the talk of the death of the printed book in this 21st century and suddenly a book that has survived 500+ years surfaces, is what fascinates Sanders.

Book collectors around the world would relish the idea of being able to have a copy of this book. This foundation book of the printed word itself is said to be priceless for collectors, even in its tattered condition.

Ken Sanders has this book displayed at his rare book shop in Salt Lake City, Utah for anyone who would like to get a glimpse of this rare attic find. I think it might be time for me to get up in my attic and do a little snooping. One never knows what you might discover under all that dust.

Source:msnbc.com/4/25/2011