De admirabili fallacia et astutia vulpeculae reinikes libri quatuor

£1,000 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

A beautifully illustrated later edition of this famous satirical work by the soldier and humanist Hatmann Schopper (1542-c. 1595). The literary cycle of Reynard the Fox is a collection of satirical medieval allegorical tales, first appearing in the 12th century and derived from Dutch, German and French sources. The stories are centred on Reynard, an anthropomorphic fox, who often cleverly outwits his enemies. Reynard’s primary antagonist throughout the cycle is the wolf Isengrim. Jost Amman (1539-1591) was a Swiss engraver who did much of his work in Nuremberg. An enormously prolific artist, his woodcuts are generally regarded as superior to his copperplate engravings. A few eighteenth- and nineteenth-century former owner’s inscriptions (two crossed out) and manuscript notes to ffep, occasional manuscript annotations. Occasional light foxing as normal, wormholes to lower margin of leaves D8 to E3, slightly affecting catchwords. Adams S704 for the 1579 edition.

• Binding: Hardcover

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