Anke Keller, Metall verarbeitende Handwerke in Nürnberg, Bestandskatalog. Nuremberg: Verlag des Germanischen Nationalmuseums, 2023, 496 p., lavishly illustrated.

Founded by Emperor Henry III in the eleventh century when he built a castle on site, Nuremberg is a comparatively young city in present-day Germany. By the twelfth century, it began to develop into an important administrative center for the Holy Roman Empire, and by the fifteenth century, it was one of the greatest manufacturing and trade centers in the empire. The cultural importance of Nuremberg is undeniable: it was, after all, the home of Albrecht Dürer, Veit Stoss, Michael Wolgemut and other great early modern artists. Despite Nuremberg’s adoption of Protestantism in 1525, many of the city’s great churches survive today with their original sculpture, altarpieces and other furnishings. The city is also famous for its history of publishing (for example, the Nuremberg Chronicle) and early astronomical investigations. Metalwork from Nuremberg can be found in great museums across the globe, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg possesses a remarkable collection. Furthermore, the museum is Germany’s largest cultural history collection, which means that the larger context of the city’s metalworking industry can be explored within its holdings.