1492, Incunabula, Jacobus de Gruytrode

Updated August 6, 2026

Lot number	5
Auction	1066: Rare Books & Bookworm, ONLINE-ONLY Sale
Date	August 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT
Auction house	Addison & Sarova Auctioneers
Location	Social Circle, Georgia

Estimate: 600 / 6000 Jacobus de Gruytrode (attr.) LAVACRUM CONSCIENTIAE. Augsburg: Anton Sorg, 1492. 7" x 5". 96, [2] leaves, or A-M8, [*]2. With woodcut initial throughout, final two leaves contain the register and colophon. Occasional early ink marginal notes. Bound in circa 19th c. full morocco over beveled boards, stamped in blind. A notable pre-Reformation incunable manual which addresses priestly conduct through moral exempla and admonitions, including discussions of clerical lust, concubinage, plural benefices, negligent pastors, ignorant priests, public criminal clergy, and preparation for death. One notable narrative concerns a parish priest who seeks to impose public penance upon an adulterous innkeeper, only to be confronted with his own notorious long-term concubinage and illegitimate children, leading to repentance and reform. Jacobus de Gruytrode (c. 1400–1475) was a Carthusian monk of the Low Countries whose devotional and moral writings were widely circulated in manuscript and early print. Associated with the late medieval movement of spiritual reform, he emphasized personal repentance, clerical discipline, and preparation for a holy life. Goff L98; H 9958*; Pr 1721; BMC II 356; BSB-Ink L-71; GW 13878. Condition: Spine-ends chipped, hinges cracked but binding intact. A1 and A2 with marginal paper repairs and light soiling, foxing throughout, last few leaves with a few tiny worm holes (small, occasionally removing one letter of text throughout final gathering.

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