Sebastian Brant’s Navis Stultifera with Durer Engravings 1507 

Size: 8 1/2 x 6 in. 

This book is Sebastian Brant’s Navis Stultifera from 1507. In English, the title means  The Ship of Fools, and it is filled with engravings by Albrecht Durer, one of the finest woodcut designers of the Middle Ages. The book was first published in German in 1494 and translated into Latin in 1497, and it’s a sweeping satire, especially of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. Originally titled Das Narrenschiff in German, the book concerns the incidents on a ship carrying more than 100 people to Narragonia, a make- believe land which was considered to be a fools’ paradise.  

Brant published the book in Basel, Switzerland, and it was printed by Michael Furter for Johann Bergann von Olpe, then translated into Latin by Jacob Locher in 1497, French editions came out in 1497 and 1498, and the book was translated into English by Alexander Barclay in 1509. It consists of a prologue, 112 brief satires, and an epilogue at the end, all illustrated with woodcuts. Durer created approximately 73 woodcuts for Brant’s first edition, the book has been compared to Dante Alighieri's Divina Commedia and it resembles later emblem books.  

Brant (1457 - 1521) was a satirical poet best known for this book, and it was considered the most popular German literary work of the 15th century. Brant (also Brandt) was born in Strassburg [Strasbourg], France and was a humanist and theologian. He studied in Basel, where he received his B.A. in 1477 and doctor of laws in 1489; he taught law there from 1484 to 1500, when Basel joined the Swiss Confederation, then he returned to Strassburg, where he became municipal secretary in 1503. Maximilian 1 appointed him imperial councilor and count palatine (a figure who acted as a representative in the king’s court), and the book here was an allegory about a ship laden with fools and steered by fools setting sail for a fool’s paradise, and the fool (who often looked like a jester) represented the weaknesses, vices, and follies of contemporary society: the fool represented all shortcomings, be they large or small, including criminals, drunkards, ill-behaved priests and lecherous monks, spendthrifts, corrupt judges, nosy people, and voluptuous women who used their bodies to get their way, and Brant’s aim was to improve society and start a regeneration of the church and empire. 

The book has three raised bands, beautifully decorated brown boards, the front flyleaf mentions Brunet and Murray - Brunet refers to the Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres by Jacques-Charles Brunet, a major 19th century French bibliographer, and Murray refers to Charles Fairfax Murray, a British painter, collector, and art historian who worked for John Ruskin, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Morris. The title page is printed in red and black and says the book was written by Sebastian Brant, it was first published in German and then translated into Latin by Locher, the first illustration shows a ship laden with fools as they make their way to Narragonia, and it has 113 engravings, about two-thirds made by Durer, the book has an index at the rear which lists all the engravings by title and folio number, followed by the colophon of Nicolaus Lamparter  on the very last page of the text, and it was published by Lamparter in Basel and dated March 15, 1507 (“MCCCCCVII”) in Latin, according to the information above the publisher’s colophon at the rear. 

Some of the woodcuts were done by the Master of the Haintz-Narr and the Gnad-Her-Meister and two other anonymous artists, and some of the Durer woodcuts in this edition are folio VII (of old fools)), folio xvi (showing pigs in a trough), folio lxxviii (on neglecting death), and xcvii (the anti-Christ and the ascension of Christ), and some pages are illuminated in pale gold or yellow.   

We took the book to Frank Mowery at his book-binding shop in Venice, Florida, and he identified several features in the book we didn’t know about till he examined the book. Frank is one of the world’s leading experts on book bindings and paper conservation and he told us the book was rebound in an 18th century binding in the style of an earlier period binding, probably made after the 1780’s, and it has woven endpapers. 

In 1494, the Master of the Haintz Narr’s woodcut originally appeared as the frontispiece on the verso of the title page, the Latin edition published by Johann Bergmann von Olpe in 1497 became the standard version of The Ship of Fools’ text that was copied in all following editions and translations, and in 1962 Katherine Anne Porter used Brant’s title for her allegorical novel in which a German ship, the Vera, became a microcosm of life. 

The book measures 8 1/2 x 6 inches wide and is in remarkable condition, especially for a book that is over 500 years old. The covers are in great condition, the binding is tight, there are faint brown spots in the margins here and there, and the pages show very little wear, aside from a couple of small tears in the margins, small chips at the bottom tips of a few pages, and a larger chip in the bottom margin for folio CXI, and if you have a hard time looking the book up, it is also called Stultifera Navis. 

In 2021, Sotheby’s sold an edition of Stultifera Navis for £9450 ($12,850), it was printed in Basel in 1506; Christie’s sold three copies since 2021: a 1497 copy by von Olpe for $47,800 in Jan. 2025, a 1498 copy by von Olpe for £27,500 ($37,400) in July 2021, and another copy for $16,300 in Jan. 2025, and in 2021 Swann’s Galleries sold a reprint of the 1497 edition for $21,250 (and that copy was missing three leaves). Stultifera Navis is also being offered for $118,700 and $64,000 on the rare book website we use, a von Olpe edition from 1497 is selling for $45,000, two Latin editions by von Olpe from 1498 are selling for $60,000 and $21,700, a von Olpe edition from 1497 is selling for $42,300, even a counterfeit copy of the Latin edition from 1497 goes for $13,800, and we’re starting the bidding low to to get things going.  

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