[Original Manuscript] Chronologica Carolo Alberto

Bavaria, Germany, 1742. Very Good+. Bavaria, Germany: 1742. Folio (30cm); stitched wrappers of a nearly full sheet of gold on green Bronzefirnispapier (bronze varnish paper); [8]ll. filled nearly to completion with five manuscript calligraphic chronograms, the Roman numerals accomplished in gold with red shading, the rest of the text in black. Light soil to upper cover bleeding through to first leaf (blank), else a Very Good to Near Fine example.

Collection of five chronograms in both Latin and German blackletter. Translated literally as "time writing," this was a popular practice in Germany in which dates are embedded within the text of the event described. This collection is slightly off kilter, with many of the dates off by a year or two. For example, the opening chronogram offers congratulations to Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria who became Holy Roman Emperor in 1742, though the date of the chronogram is 1741.

Place of production in part based on the final chronogram, which makes reference to Rathardi Diessensis, the Bavarian Saint Rathard von Andechs, who founded the monastery of Diessen in the 9th century. This work may be the output of a monk or, more likely, a novice--the final line of the manuscript reads cheekily "Wist Ihrs Ia Wohl" (approximately translated as, "So there you have it").

Also of special note is the binding, which employs almost a full sheet of Bronzefirnispapier signed in the image along bottom edge by the Augsburg master paper maker Georg Christoph Stoy (1669-1750). The decoration features flowers and leaves, grapes, and something that appears to be a cross between a pomegranate and a pumpkin.