1659 – G. Bucelin – Historiae Universalis Nucleus

Title:                     Historiae Universalis cum Sacrae, tum Prophanae Nucleus
                               (The Kernel of Universal History, both Sacred and Profane)

Description:

This is an original 1659 edition of Gabriel Bucelin’s compact chronicle of world history. It is arranged by days and years, combining sacred and secular events with genealogies and chorography. The Greek title, Ἡμερ-ἐνιαυτο-γενεα-χωρογραφίας Nucleus, sums it up as a “kernel” of history by days, years, lineages and places. It was designed as a memory aid for students of history, and this edition is “multis locis auctior et emendatior”, enlarged and corrected in many places.

Gabriel Bucelin (1599–1681) was a Benedictine monk of the imperial abbey of Weingarten and prior of St. John’s in Feldkirch. He was one of the most prolific historians, genealogists and cartographers of 17th-century Germany.

The book contains:

• Engraved title by Philipp Kilian after Johann Arnold: putti holding a curtain with the title above a large terrestrial globe. At the foot runs Plautus’s line “Qui e nuce nucleum esse vult, frangat nucem”: “He who wants the kernel must crack the nut.”
• 15 small engraved maps, each set beside a Latin description of the country:
  • Germania, Bavaria, Bohemia, Saxonia, Franconia, Austria and Suevia (Swabia)
  • Helvetia, Hungaria, Belgium, France, Anglia, Italia and Hispania
  • a map of the Bohemian and Saxon lands
• The Germania map reaches east to Polonia (Cracau, Warsovia, Gnesna, Posna) and Prussia (Brussia, Königsberg, Danzig, Torn, Culm), along the Vistula.
• Chronological tables, genealogies of noble houses such as the Counts of Starhemberg, with a folding table, and a list of the popes with woodcut coats of arms.

Publisher:            Gabriel Bucelin (1599–1681)

Engraver:           Philipp Kilian, after Johann Arnold (engraved title)
Book size:            14 x 9 x 4 cm
Year:                      1659
Technique:          copper engraving

Reference:            Czech National Library record for the same edition (Historické fondy, stt20110023980)
​
Condition:
Fair to good. The binding is worn: the leather on the spine is rubbed and cracked, the head of the spine is chipped and the corners are bumped. The engraved title is frayed and chipped along the fore-edge and lower margin, with small losses to the border and some soiling. The printed title is toned. Inside, the maps are clearly printed and the text is evenly age-toned. An early owner continued the list of popes by hand on the back endpaper, up to Pius VII, and added notes on the end of the Templars in 1311–1313.

 

This is an original antique book published in 1659 and NOT a modern copy or reprint

 

On your request we will provide a Certificate of Authenticity.