Opera [ed. by Sebastian Brant].

Folio: [6]-CCCVII [= 408]-XXXIIII ff. (last two ff. replaced by facsimile, tear to title skilfully mended, margins, some corners and other margins repaired, first quires and last ff. with marg. clear water stain, occ. foxing, some minor soiling, wormhole and wormtrack in inner blank margin ff. IX-LII, contemp. and old ms. annotations). Inside good condition.

18th-c. brown sheep, blind-stamped spine with raised bands, red sprinkled edges (spine and edges repaired, covers sl. rubed).

First illustrated edition of Virgil commissioned by Grüninger to the humanist Brant (1458-1521), well-known author of the best-seller "The Ship of Fools". The text is based on Cristoforo Landino's commentary, adding several poems not in earlier editions of Virgil, as "Book 13". Ill. with a large woodcut on title and 213 other woodcuts, some full-page and one double-page, engr. by the artist known as Late Master of the Grüninger Workshop. The rich iconographic programme, executed under the guidance of Brant, brought a Renaissance twist to this classical text and formed the basis of practically all Virgilian imagery in the 16th c. This is why this ed. should be considered as one of the great German woodcut books of the Renaissance, and the masterpiece of the Late Master of the Grüninger Workshop. Our copy bears on the recto of the 1st folio a ms. annotation of censorship urging the reader not to read the book alone: "non licet unicuique hunc perlegere librum".
Ref. VD16 V-1332. - Adams V-457. - USTC 688629. - STC German (BL) 895. - Opac KBR.
Prov. Ms. ownership entries (crossed out on title and on f. [II]).