Basel · 1494 · Johann Bergmann von Olpe

Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools)

Sebastian Brant

Bibliophile fool woodcut — The book's most famous cut, heading the chapter "Von vnnütze buchern": the bespectacled book-fool at his lectern, dusting unread volumes with a fly-whisk (leaf 00012).

The wise man woodcut — Large allegorical cut for "Der wis man," the closing counter-image to the fools, set in an architectural interior (leaf 00313).

Closing leaf with Deo gratias — The text's farewell, naming "Sebastianus Brant" and ending "Deo gratias," within the woodcut border frame used throughout the edition (leaf 00315).

1 / 4

The runaway best-seller of the late incunable age: Brant's verse satire parades a fool for every human folly, each chapter headed by a woodcut, and the book's success rested on that pairing of image and rhyme. The Basel first edition (Johann Bergmann von Olpe, 11 February 1494) carries some 114 cuts, a number attributed to the young Albrecht Dürer during his Basel years. Its blocks were copied wholesale by the Paris and Lyons editions that followed, carrying the design across Europe.

Details

Title: Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools)
Author: Sebastian Brant
Printer: Johann Bergmann von Olpe
Place: Basel
Year: 1494
Format: 4°
Language: German
Theme: illustration

Facsimiles

BSB ↗

Images

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München, Rar. 121 — Public Domain Mark 1.0

References

ISTC ib01080000