---

---

---

he great tradition of Swiss illuminated chronicles begins with the illuminated chronicle by Bendicht Tschachtlan from the year 1470.

Tschachtlan's pictures are an inexhaustible mine of information for cultural historians: weapons, clothing, siege and battle techniques as well as camp life are all depicted in minute detail. Townscapes, castles and fortresses are all painted with vivid imagination. The carefree depiction of the colourful doings of his time shape a whole series of subsequent Swiss illuminated chronicles.

The charm of Tschachtlan's 1,060 page chronicle lies in its illuminations, which consist of 230 coloured, mostly full page illustrations. This work is currently kept under catalogue number Ms. A120 in Zurich's Central Library.

The all leather binding, approximately 220 x 298 mm in size, corresponds to the 16th century original. It is a faithful recreation of the original, with 5 ribs, embossing and clasps. The 477 page commentary volume, in German, contains well researched background material on the oldest Swiss illuminated chronicle. As a half bound volume it has the same format as the Fine Art Facsimile Edition which is limited to 980 copies world-wide

A documentation kit containing 4 sample pages, in the original size, from the Tschachtlan's Illuminated Chronicle Fine Art Facsimile Volume, plus an illustrated, 12 page information brochure, is available for $US55.