The Most Beautiful Facsimiles Under 1,000€

A unicum of art history: the unique combination of a private devotional book and travel diptych for the Duke of Burgundy

France — 1430–1450

Gorgeous, magnificently illuminated poetry for his beloved: Pierre Sala's masterpiece on the themes of love, wisdom, poverty, and success

Paris and Lyon (France) — Between 1500 and 1519

Created by Andrea Benincasa, one of the most famous cartographers of the Italian Renaissance: the Mediterranean Sea and the surrounding regions in beautiful colors and amazing accuracy

Ancona (Italy) — 1508

Made for an Italian noble family: 206 large miniatures accompanying the text of the famous physician Ibn Butlan with many scenes from everyday life, botany, and medicine

Lombardy (Italy) — End of the 14th century

With miniatures based on classical motifs and itself a template for centuries: one of the oldest and at the same time most extensive illuminated manuscripts devoted to the Book of Revelation

Northern France (probably Tours) — Around 800

A genius painter active at the court of no less than three French kings: Jean Bourdichon and his magnificent masterpiece of the Gothic style from the Vatican

France — Second half of the 15th century

A practical calendar, testimony to science, and an artistic enigma to this day: the most richly decorated and probably the most famous of the only four surviving Mayan manuscripts

Central America — 1200–1250

The art of a genius painter presented in a unique way: the book art of Simon Bening in a wooden frame as an altar for the Queen of Spain

Ghent or Bruges (Belgium) — 16th century

A Carolingian masterpiece: the life and martyrdom of the saints together with depictions of everyday rural life in the 9th century

Monastery of Reichenau (Germany) — 848–855

A tiny gift for a great queen: Mary Stuart's book of hours, measuring just 4.8 x 3.5 cm, is the smallest illuminated book of hours from the Middle Ages

Tours (France) — Ca. 1510–1515

Love poetry by 31 medieval poets revolving around Walther von der Vogelweide: one of the most important German sources of Minnesang, adorned with 25 author portraits.

Konstanz (Germany) — Early 14th century

A sparkling jewel of the German Renaissance: golden calendar pictures by the famous Nuremberg painter Albrecht Glockendon

Nuremberg (Germany) — 1526

One of the earliest prints in the history of books: the famous fables of the Greek poet Aesop in German and Latin, illustrated with stylish, colored woodcuts

Ulm (Germany) — 1476

Created in Northern Hesse and Bamberg: scenes from the Old and New Testaments in lively Gothic painting for the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Friedrich von Hohenloh

Part 1: North Hessen (Germany); Part 2: Bamberg (Germany) — Part 1: Second quarter of the 15th century; Part 2: 1349 and ca. 1400

King Modus in a magnificently illustrated conversation with one of his pupils: on the art of hunting and the luxurious lifestyle of the Burgundian nobility

Flanders — 1455

A jewel of the Austrian National Library: Anglo-Saxon ornamentation combined with Carolingian-Franconian writing and beautiful illumination

Abbey of Saint-Amand (France) — Ca. 870

Created by hand according to Jewish tradition long after the printing of books: the everyday life of Copenhagen's large and prosperous Jewish community in beautiful miniatures

Copenhagen (Denmark) — 1769

The most famous book in the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar: the first printed complete translation of Martin Luther's Bible with a title page by Lucas Cranach the Elder and 128 masterful colored woodcuts

Wittenberg (Germany) — 1534

Reference instructions for all situations: 47 lively, high-quality miniatures, vignettes, and marginalia give insights into everyday life in the Late Middle Ages

Probably Middle Rhine region (Germany) — Ca. 1470–1480

With 63 magnificent miniatures and over 350 lively bordures: a masterful example of Flemish book painting for an unknown patron

Bruges (Belgium) — Ca. 1510