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Chapter 1 Page 1

      First of all, I offer you my humble and most zealous readiness to
serve you, noble, wise Sir: / Shortly after the closing of the Lenten
fair of this year 1533, Christian Egenolph, / a book printer of your
City and citizen of Frankfurt, / printed a herbal, publicly offered the
same for sale, / and sold many copies. / And the plants portrayed in
this herbal, / which for five years now I have first gathered together
with particular care, / effort, / and great expense, / and then produced
in print / in a commendable way, / as indicated earlier – these the
aforesaid Christian [Egenolph] has reduced and reprinted, / entirely
on the basis of my original illustrations, / against the ample warning
of a privilege from [His] Imperial Majesty, / which was graciously granted
to me in this [work] and in others. / For this reason, therefore, I
have suffered a [not] insignificant, / great and heavy loss, / and my
work has been hereby damaged. Because of this I am compelled
in the highest degree / to solicit your noble wisdom in this matter /
with the humble request / that you indicate to the said Christian
Egenolph, / that, for this criminal and manifest abuse of his, / as
well as for the damage he has caused, / he should make it up to
me - / since without having a legitimate reason, / he has also
breached [His] Imperial Majesty’s mandate and privilege - / so
that I am not further forced to institute, on the strength of the
privilege granted to me, / legal proceedings / against him at
the place and in the venue which would then be appropriate
[for such a law-suit], // which because of my Christian
disposition I would prefer not to have to do. / I herewith
exhort and beseechingly appeal to your wisdom to submit
this friendly request of mine, / in fulfilment of your official
duties, / to the worthy Council, my good Sirs of the City of
Frankfurt, that these may have my demand read out to
Christian Egenolph, / and that they might thereupon send
me a written reply, giving it to the deliverer [of this letter], /
and also that they should receive my enclosed [other?] letter
in the best possible way . / With my zealous services I am
at all times ready and willing to repay you. / Dated in
Strasbourg on 14 July, in the year of our Lord 1533.

                                                      Your willing servant
                                                            Hans Schott
                                                            Book printer


Translation by: Luis Sundkvist