Luther, Martin

4to (8 x 5 7/8 in.; 204 x 150 mm). Title within historiated woodcut border incorporating Lotter's printers device and the arms of Wittemberg, border attributed to the Cranach workshop (Hollstein VI, 51) and with traces of early color, woodcut initial; title-page faintly dampstained and with tiny tear at lower margin, occasional trace of dampstaining at upper margins, F1r a little soiled (perhaps due to over-inking), some neat early marginalia and underlining. Nineteenth-century half blue morocco, marbled endpapers; rubbed.

VD16 L4189; Benzing, Luther 704; Adams L1886

4to (8 x 5 7/8 in.; 204 x 150 mm). Title within historiated woodcut border incorporating the arms of Wittemberg, border attributed to Cranach workshop (Hollstein VI, 51) and with traces of early color, woodcut initial; title-page faintly dampstained and with tiny tear at lower margin, occasional trace of dampstaining at upper margins, F1r a little soiled (perhaps due to over-inking), some neat early marginalia and underlining. Nineteenth-century half blue morocco, marbled endpapers; rubbed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Rare first edition of the work that made Luther's break with the Catholic Church irrevocable. "In this, his second important work of 1520, Luther enters the sanctuary, so to speak, and attacks the sacramental system by which the Roman Church so rigidly controlled its members from birth to death. He had thought long and hard about the sacraments and was to have a great deal more to say about them than could be contained within the confines of a comparatively short pamphlet. For that reason he describes the work as a 'prelude.' … Luther admits two sacraments only: baptism and the Lord's supper. For the other five—confirmation, penance, matrimony, holy orders, and extreme unction—he finds no scriptural authority. He is willing to recognize them as institutions in the Church, but he denies them the status of Sacraments. … This work represents the most devastating attack Luther had yet made on Rome, since it strikes at the very heart of her teaching" (Harvard/Luther 20).