Printers, Colourists, Illuminators, and the Standardisation of Book Decoration in Nuremberg, 1470–1530

Series: 

Author:
Julia R. Smith
The advent and rapid proliferation of printing created a new challenge for colourists and illuminators: how could they meet this sudden, increased demand for book decoration in the most efficient way possible? This publication, based on a study of hundreds of illustrated books and broadsides, explores how artists working for Nuremberg’s first printers adapted to this radical shift in book production by standardising their output. Illuminators painted identical initials and ornamental borders on batches of books before sale, while print colourists created a distinctive, formulaic style that was employed by multiple workshops. Thus, the rise of printing spawned a new industry of mass-produced hand-applied decoration.
Copyright Year:
2026
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-68483-6
Publication:
04 May 2026
Hardback
Availability:
Not Yet Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-51778-3
Publication:
17 Jun 2026
Cover Printers, Colourists, Illuminators, and the Standardisation of Book Decoration in Nuremberg, 1470–1530

Prices from (excl. shipping):

€189.60€158.00 excl. VAT
E-Book (PDF)
Add to Cart
Julia R. Smith is an independent scholar specialising in the hand colouring of prints, books, and broadsides in Renaissance Germany. She was awarded her PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2022. This is her first monograph.
Contents
List of Figures
Abbreviations

Introduction: Book Decoration in a Precarious Market
 1 Introduction
 2 Scope of the Book
 3 The Appearance of the Book during the Transition from Manuscript to Print
 4 Structure

1 Early Printing in Nuremberg and Batch Illumination
 1 Introduction
 2 The Gutenberg Bible
 3 Illumination in Manuscripts
 4 Batch Illumination in Early Printed Books
 5 Nuremberg Printing and Early Batch Illumination
 6 Nuremberg Printing, Standardised Batch Illumination of the 1480s
 7 Nuremberg Printing, 1490s
 8 Conclusion

2 Illustrated Printed Books and the Appeal of Colour in the Fifteenth Century
 1 Introduction
 2 Early Batch Colouring
 3 Batch Colouring in Nuremberg in the 1480s
 4 Batch Colouring in Nuremberg in the 1490s
 5 Koberger’s Colouring Workshop
 6 Cost of Batch Colouring
 7 Batch Colouring from Other Nuremberg Printers
 8 Standardised Colouring in Other Books
 9 Batch-Coloured Books and Their Readers
 10 Conclusion

3 The Single-Leaf Print in Colour: Illustrated Broadsides of the Sixteenth Century
 1 Introduction
 2 Broadsides with Book-Style Batch Colouring
 3 Broadsides of the Sixteenth Century
 4 Portrait Broadsides
 5 Broadsides of the 1530s: Turks and Landsknechte
 6 Other Broadsides from the 1530s
 7 Monumental Woodcuts
 8 Conclusion: the Absence of Colour in Single-Leaf Prints

4 Print for Princes: Deluxe Batch Colouring
 1 Introduction
 2 Salus Anime
 3 Eichstätt Missal
 4 Deluxe Colouring of Single-Leaf Prints
 5 Secular Batch Colouring
 6 Batch-Coloured Luther Bibles
 7 Conclusion

5 The Printer-Colourists of Nuremberg
 1 Introduction
 2 Specialisation in Artistic Practice
 3 Specialisation in Nuremberg
 4 Nomenclature
 5 The Glockendon Family
 6 Hans Guldenmund
 7 Conclusion

6 Conclusion: the Proto-Industry of Batch Decoration
 1 Summary
 2 Identifying Batch Decoration
 3 Implications

Appendix A: Printed Books with Standardised Illumination
Appendix B: Illustrated Books with Standardised Colouring
Appendix C: Hand-Coloured Illustrated Broadsides, 1470–1530
Appendix D: Nuremberg’s Printer-Colourists
Appendix E: Availability of Pigments in Nuremberg
Appendix F: Broadside Colophons
Bibliography
Index
This monograph’s readers are academics, and post-graduate students in the field of art and book history, rare book librarians, print room curators, antiquarian print dealers, and collectors.
  • Collapse
  • Expand

Manufacturer information:
Koninklijke Brill B.V. 
Plantijnstraat 2
2321 JC
Leiden / The Netherlands
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com