Ars moriendi.

single blockbook leaf, 4to (248 x 188mm.), contemporary hand-coloured woodcut (212 x 155mm.) printed anopisthographically (on one side of the leaf only), mounted in a folding buckram case, a few small paper repairs on verso

H.P. Kraus, catalogue 193 (1993), where it was offered with another woodcut leaf (Temptation against Faith) from the same blockbook

W.L. Schreiber, Manuel de l'amateur de la gravure sur bois et sur metal (Leipzig, 1902), Ars moriendi group IV; unfortunately this leaf does not match one of Schreiber's list of group IV editions exactly. IVB-D have the same border (without the outer border and the hatching between the lines of the border) but are all printed on both sides of the leaf. The HAB copy is listed under edition IVD as it has two extra illustrations (making a total of 13).

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

rare: one of only two leaves known to survive from this edition. The series of images of the Ars moriendi to which this leaf belongs is first recorded in a manuscript of c. 1420-1430 in the Wellcome Library. The images were then engraved by the Master E.S., an anonymous artist of the Upper Rhine, from which various different blocks were cut and used for both blockbooks and incunabular editions (GW 2571 ff.). The text accompanying this particular series of woodcuts is known as "Quamvis secundum philosophum tertio ethicorum" and blockbook editions usually had a page of text and a woodcut printed next to each other on one side of the sheet, which may well have been the case with this leaf. We have traced the use of the actual woodblock used for this printing in a blockbook (uncoloured) in the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, xylogr. 8, which is dated to [c. 1480/85] (the same woodcut is recorded with the text in the banderoles in German rather than Latin, as here; see HAB xylogr. 7). However, the HAB copy is a blockbook printed on both sides of the leaf, so this is a clear example of the same woodcut block being used for blockbooks printed on one side and also on both sides of the paper. Iconographically the image is also very close to GW 2571, printed in Cologne by Nicolaus Götz, c. 1475.

This image is the ninth in the series of eleven images, depicting the dying man being protected from despair by a vision of Christ on the Cross, with St Peter, Mary Magdalene (carrying her ointment jar) and an angel standing by his deathbed.