334 - [Illustrated incunabulum]. [The Ship of Fools. Latin. 1497]. BRANT (Sebastian). Stultifera navis... translated into Latin by Iacobum Locher... Basel, Johann Bergman of Olpe, March 1, 1497. In-4, CXXXXV leaves, [3] leaves (table of contents), fig., mottled tan sheepskin, decorated spine, title label, triple gilt fillet on the covers, interior lace, gilt edges [Riviere] (defects including detached upper cover; minor wormholes, some repairs, rare soiling).

[Illustrated incunabulum]. [The Ship of Fools. Latin. 1497]. BRANT (Sebastian). Stultifera navis... translated into Latin by Iacobum Locher... Basel, Johann Bergman of Olpe, March 1, 1497. In-4, CXXXXV leaves, [3] leaves (table of contents), fig., mottled tan sheepskin, decorated spine, title label, triple gilt fillet on the covers, interior lace, gilt edges [Riviere] (defects including detached upper cover; minor wormholes, some repairs, rare soiling). An important and valuable first Latin edition of the famous *Ship of Fools* by Sebastian Brant (Strasbourg, 1458–1521), a remarkable satire on the human condition that describes the many facets of human folly. The translation is the work of Jakob Locher (1471–1528), a German humanist writer and philologist who owed his fame to this work. The book’s magnificent illustrations helped establish its reputation, beginning with its first German edition published in 1494. It consists of 117 large woodcut illustrations, at least 74 of which were based on compositions by the painter Albrecht Dürer. The binding was done in London by Robert Rivière between 1840 and ca. 1860, as indicated by the stamp on a flyleaf reading “Bound by Riviere.” It has undergone previous restorations (corners, caps, etc.), and its upper cover is detached. Minor wormholes at the beginning of the volume, which then diminish: starting on fol. 25, a single wormhole on the illustration and two in the margin; from fol. 41 onward, just one bite mark on the illustration, continuing this way until fol. 76, and no bite marks until the end of the volume. Restoration in the bottom margin of the title page; in a corner of fol. XXVII; a small tear restored on fol. CXL. There are a few discreet historical interventions on the illustrations: f. XCIX, the jester is slightly colored; f. LIIII, two leashes added for the dogs; on f. XIIII, the private parts of the little archer have been obscured, whereas a discreet phallus has been added to the figure of the jester emerging from the ground, f. XV. Provenance: Cecil Dunn-Gardner (1827–c. 1880), an English bibliophile whose collection was largely sold in London by Sotheby’s in June 1880 (autograph inscription initialed at the end of the volume); collation note “Perfect” from Bernard Quaritch Booksellers in February 1912. (ISTC ib01086000; GW 5054; Pellechet 2820; Hain-Copinger 3746; Schreiber 3567; Brunet I, 1203–1204: “[...] well-preserved copies are hard to find”).