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Item 1081 of 2719

Large tin by E. Otto Schmidt Lebkuchenfabrik Nürnberg

SKU: 1394

Large tin by E. Otto Schmidt Lebkuchenfabrik Nürnberg. 

  • Manufacturing date: 1st half of 20th century - Germany.

Description
Very large rectangular storage tin for gingerbread by E. Otto Schmidt Lebkuchenfabrik Nürnberg with a hinged lid. The decoration of this tin consists of a dark brown surface with silver colored details. On the lid and sides are multicolored images with texts.

This tin is in a vintage condition and shows traces of use. The silver-colored decoration has been pressed into the tin, which gives it a nice embossed look.

On the inside of the lid is the original description of the story that is told on the outside of the tin in beautiful colored pictures. It's the story about the German navigator, geographer, artist and philosopher Martin Behaim.

The bottom of the tin is marked with "Lebkuchenfabrik E. Otto Schmidt Nurnberg". Lebkuchen, or Pfefferkuchen, is a traditional German baked Christmas treat, somewhat similar to gingerbread.

Every year these beautiful tin boxes are sold around Christmas time and are filled with lebkuchen. The tins are given as a Christmas present to friends and/or family members. It is a regular tradition in Nürnberg. Every year there is a new tin with very beautiful images, which have become popular collector's items for many.

Condition
This tin is in an original vintage condition with traces of use and age-related traces of wear.

Size

  • Height: 17 cm.
  • Length: 41.5 cm.
  • Width: 29.5 cm.

Martin Behaim (6 October 1459 – 29 July 1507), also known as Martin von Behaim and by various forms of Martin of Bohemia (Latin: Martinus Bohemus and de Boëmia; Portuguese: Martinho da Boémia; German: Martin Behaim von Schwarzbach) was a German mariner, artist, cosmographer, astronomer, philosopher, geographer, and explorer in service to King John II. His maps are sometimes held to have been influential on the Age of Discovery but he is now best known for his Erdapfel, the world's oldest surviving globe, which he produced for the Imperial City of Nuremberg.

Behaim was born in Nuremberg, according to one source, about 1436; other sources suggest as late as 1459; while others indicate that he was born in Bohemia to Martin Behaim and Agnes Schopper, the oldest of seven sons. Martin Behaim, the father, had many businesses including some in Venice, and later became an elected senator (1461), dying in 1474 (Agnes Schopper died on 8 July 1487). Their son received a scientific education, attending the highest schools where students were obligated to learn the languages of Europe and devote themselves to commercial pursuits and studies, before being sent to apprenticeships abroad.

With a vocation in commerce, he parted around 1477 for Flanders, settling in Malines where he joined the business of Jorius van Dorpp, a vendor of clothing. They visited Frankfurt fairs in 1477, where van Dorpp sold his wares to a German merchant from Antwerp, and Behaim was motivated by his mother to return in the fall where he worked with Bartels von Eyb (a friend of the family). Writing to his uncle, Leonhard Behaim (18 September 1478), he expressed his desire not to return to Malines and wanted to improve his commercial skills. He eventually worked for another merchant, Fritz Heberlein (a native of Nuremberg but established in Antwerp) who allowed him to learn arithmetic and improve his skills. In 1480, trade between Portugal and Flanders attracted Behaim to Lisbon, and he became involved with the mercantile interests and overseas exploration that was occurring in the capital (from Flanders, Germany and the Hanseatic League). He was attracted to the knowledge of the navigators, cosmographers and explorers, acquiring a scientific reputation, and supposedly meeting with Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan and other celebrities then at the court of King John II of Portugal.

Between 1471-75, as a pupil (real or supposed) of the astronomer Regiomontanus (Johannes Müller von Königsberg of Königsberg in Franconia), who died in 1476, he became linked to cosmography and cartography, resulting in an invitation from King John to a council on navigation in 1483, led by Abraham Zacuto. It is said that he introduced the cross-staff to Portugal (an invention first described by the French Jew Levi ben Gerson in the 14th century), but this is a matter of some controversy. Many navigational instruments had been in use for centuries by Scandinavian, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Chinese navigators, although there were subtle differences between them. He made improvements to the astrolabe by introducing brass instruments in place of cumbrous wooden ones. It also seems likely that he helped to prepare improved navigational tables of the Iberian Peninsula.

Behaim accompanied Diogo Cão during his second expedition (1485–86) along the coast of western Africa, reaching Cabo Negro and Cabo Ledo and returning by way of the Azores. It is still unclear whether Behaim sailed as far as reported, or whether he only reached the coast of Guinea, perhaps as far as the Bight of Benin. Perhaps these waypoints were only reached by the astronomers José Vizinho and João Afonso de Aveiro in 1484-86. Behaim's later history was less memorable: on his return to Lisbon from exploration in western Africa, he was knighted by King John, who afterwards employed him in various capacities.

Following his marriage to D. Joana de Macedo in 1486, he resided on the Portuguese island of Faial in the Azores, where his father-in-law, Josse van Huerter, was Captain-donatário and leader of the Flemish community. In 1490, he returned to Nuremberg to handle the family business and design his famous globe, the Erdapfel. He returned to Faial in 1493 by way of Flanders and Lisbon, and he remained there until 1506. He died on 29 July 1507 while in Lisbon on business.


Some translations come from an automated system and may contain errors.

Country of origin
Germany

Kind of object
Gingerbread box (lebkuchen)

Brand
Lebkuchenfabrik E. Otto Schmidt Nurnberg

Particularities
Extra large - embossed

Era
1st half of the 20th century

Quality
Vintage with traces of use and wear

Height
17,00 cm

Lenght
41,50 cm

Width
29,50 cm

Shipping method
Parcel post

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