ALBERE Erasme L’Alcoran des Cordeliers. Tant en latin qu’en François. C’est à dire Recueil des plus notables bourdes & blasphemes de ceux qui ont osé comparer Sainct François à Jesus Christ: tiré du grand livre des Conformitez, jadis composé par frère Barthelemi de Pise, Cordelier en son vivant.

Brunet I,152 ; Cohen-De Ricci, 5 ; Graesse I, 64.

First illustrated edition of this celebrated polemical work. 

A satirical adaptation of excerpts from the Liber conformitatum, written by the Franciscan friar Bartolomeo da Pisa, by the German reformer Erasmus Alberus (1500–1553), a humanist and poet; he was one of Luther’s most active collaborators in his struggle against the Roman Catholics. First published in Wittenberg in 1542, the text, in Latin with French alongside, is preceded by a translation of the preface by Conrad Badius and that of Luther, who is particularly violent against the Cordelier monks “idolatrous vermin, masked monsters, source of foul error… excruciating heretics… pernicious sect of grey devils”, as well as the “papists and cagots”. 

This beautiful edition is illustrated with one frontispiece and 21 engravings by Bernard Picart: they represent miracles and extraordinary scenes from the life of Saint Francis; one of them, folding, presents a mystical tree of correspondence between the main events of the lives of Saint Francis and Jesus. 

Very beautiful binding in green morocco in the style of Derome, with the arms of Pierre-Adolphe du Cambout, marquis de Coislin (1801-1873), peer of France. 

Other provenance: Jacques Vieillard Bookplate and no. 38 from his 1929 sale – Ernest Stroehlin (1844-1907), historian of Protestantism, Doctor of Theology and Professor of History of Religion at the University of Geneva, bookplate with his motto ‘Mente Libera’ and no. 1030 from his sale.

The boards have a few dark spots.