BRANT Sébastien. Stultifera navis. Basel, Johann... Lot 9

BRANT Sébastien. Stultifera navis. Basel, Johann Bergmann de Olpe, 1 March 1497; in-4 of 145 ff. 18th century, polished mottled calf, spine highly decorated with gilt, gilt decoration on the edges, red edges. First edition of the first translation in Latin verse of La Nef des Fous (The Ship of Fools), first published in German three years earlier. The author denounces the madness present, according to him, in all strata of society, among peasants and shopkeepers as well as among notaries and magistrates, going so far as to castigate a bibliophile maniac who is dusting a book. He thus paints a satirical and moralizing picture of the human condition. It is one of the most profusely and picturesquely illustrated incunabula. THE REMARKABLE ILLUSTRATION IS PARTLY THE WORK OF ALBERT DÜRER. It consists of 117 woodcuts, of which seventy-five are attributed to him (cf. F. Winckler, Dürer und die Illustrationen zum Narrenschiff, 1951). The others are attributed to three anonymous engravers, including the Master of Haintz Narr. These varied figures, in which humour is omnipresent, reflect the customs of the late Middle Ages. They show street scenes, cooking, hunting, torture, workshops, patients and doctors, and illustrations on themes such as avarice, adultery, and the uselessness of books and study. The translation by the poet Jacques Locher under the author's supervision served as the basis for the following editions. A fine copy, in a very early 18th century Parisian binding that has remained very fresh. Some old inscriptions. old inscriptions. Two or three upper folios slightly affected by the binder's chisel. It passed through the hands of three prominent figures of the 20th century Parisian book trade: Édouard Rahir (catalogue, II, 1931, n° 271); Pierre Berès, (expert of the Robert Danon sale, to whom he had sold it, catalogue, 1973, n° 118) where Georges Heilbrun acquired it for himself Hain-Copinger, 3746, 3747. - Pellechet, 2820. - Brit. Mus. Cat. III, 795. - Proctor, 7776. - Schreiber, 3566. - Polain, n° 865. - IGI, 2044. - GW, 5054. Goff, B-1086.