Der Todt ein Endt, aller yrdischen ding

Nürnberg: Georg Merckel, around, 1554. FIRST OF THREE EDITIONS, all by Merkel. Hardcover. Fine. A fine copy in modern paste-paper boards. Internally fine with a little, very faint foxing. With a large woodcut on the title page showing a man lying in his bed, death (as a skeleton) along with Virtue and Vice (personified as women) flanking his bed, beneath which can be seen a chamber pot. A humorous poem by the "Meistersinger" Hans Sachs in which a man dreams that Death, in the form of a skeleton, has come to take him. Frightened and too weak to resist, the man calls upon some helpers: Youth, Beauty, Health, Strength, Bravery, Skill, Medicine, and Wealth. But these fail him. The virtues (Nobility, Honor, etc.) all spurn him; the vices (Audacity, Lust, Violence, Anger, Indolence, etc.) scorn him.

Finally, through the intercession of Lady Contrition, Lady Confession, and Lady Sacrament, the man turns to Hope, Faith, and Love, who do their job of protecting him so well that the man willingly consigns himself to death, conscious of his inner, spiritual victory. In the end, it all turns out to be a dream. The man wakes and vows to lead a repentant life.

Of the two editions with “ding” in the title, this one is distinguished from the other by: the "e" in the word "aller" on the title (2nd printing: "allcr"); only one break on the woodcut border (2nd printing: two breaks); f. A1 verso, line 3: "Der new jarßtag" (2nd printing: "Der New jarstag") and line 22: "geburdt" (2nd printing: "geburt"); f. C4v., line 7: "muß" (2nd printing: "mus"); line 15: "dienen" (2nd printing: "dinen"); line 16: "Todt" (2nd print: "todt"). etc. (Inventory #: 5181)