AGRICOLA, DANIEL (DANIEL MEYER).

PASSIO DOMINI NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI SECUNDUM SERIEM QUATTORUM EVANGELISTARUM: PER FRATREM DANIELEM AGRICOLAM ORDINIS MINORUM DE OBSERVANTIA: ACCURATISSIMA OPERA DEVOTISSIMAQUE EXPOSITIONE ILLUSTRATA: MAGNORUMQUE VIRORUM SENTENTIJS COMPTE ADORNATA. BASEL, ADAM PETRI DE LANGENDORFF, 31 JULY 1514.

      4to. Modern light-brown gilt-marbled calf, spine ribbed, with 2 black title-labels. With almost full-page woodcut(121 x 93 mm) on title, showing Mary with the Child, Christ preaching in the midst of three saints and a procession with a town on the background; the scene is framed by the emblematic representation of the four evangelists, each holding an open book, and four biblical figures each holding an horn-book with their name: Daniel vir desideriorum, Petrus princeps apostolorum, Jacob frater Donini, and Paulus doctor gentium, signed by Urs Graf with his monogram and dated 1514; the text is illustrated with 20 small woodcuts in text (ca. 45 x 35 mm), illustrating Christ's Passion, also by Urs Graf. 40 lvs. Rare and well produced Gospel Harmony, concentrated on the Passion of Christ, and beautifully illustrated by Urs Graf. The book is beautifully printed in a fine 'lettre batarde' in various sizes, with the extensive notes arranged all around Agricola's text, and with legenda in the margins. The simple but expressive woodcuts by Urs Graf charmingly illustrate the sequence of events which led to the crucifixion of Jesus as told by the four evangelists. Our edition is possibly the fourth. The first edition was published in 1509, also by Adam Petri (further edd. 1511, 1513, 1516, 1518, 1519 and 1520). Sometimes five leaves of the Directorium in indice passionis articulos, with a separate title and imprint are added.The Franciscan theologist, preacher and poet Daniel Agricola (or Daniel Meyer; 1490 - 1540) lived in Basel and Kreuznach. He is known mainly for the present work and for the Vita Sancti Beati published in Basel in 1511. Not much of his life his known. Urs Graf (Solothurn, Switzerland, about 1485 - Basel, about 1528) was the most important artist of the early renaissance from German speaking Switzerland. He was active in Basel and Zurich from about 1507 until his mysterious disappearance from Basel in 1527. Graf was a member of the Goldsmiths Guild, a die-cutter, woodblock book illustrator, stain glass designer and painter, engraver, and a mercenary who periodically escaped his artisan life for military adventures in Italy. He produced the world's first etching print in 1513 and pioneered the white-line woodblock technique. Graf almost always signed his drawings and was certainly influenced by his famous contemporary, Albrecht Duerer, but overall he pursued his own style; see Passavant,Le peintre-graveur III, p. 428 (n. 85-104); about Urs Graf's work see also: Luethi, Urs Graf und die Kunst der alten Schweizer ( Zuerich 1928). Fine copy with contemporary ownership's entry of Johannes Casper Mentishausen on the title; brown morocco bookplate of Silvain S. Brunschwig on the inside of the front cover.- (Marginal damage to 4 lvs. slightly affecting the text of two; a bit cut short, sl. touching text at one occasion). VD16 B 4709; GK 2.3562; Panzer VI, 192, 131; Bibl. Silvain S. Brunschwig 41; Rosenwald Coll. (bound at the end of Guilelmus Parisiensis' Epistola et Evangelia, ed. by Dan. Agricola (Basel, Adam Petri, 1515); B. Lawn, Cat. Bibl. Lawnianae, pp. 81-2; Illustr. Bartsch 13/1, nr. 460, A-S; not in Adams, STC German, , etc.; NUC lists one copy.