[149] ff. [a-h¹⁰ i⁸ k-o¹⁰ p¹² (-p12), lacks terminal blank]. Rubricated throughout. Folio (289 x 203 mm). Later full dark blue morocco, covers and spine tooled in blind and gilt, marbled endpapers. Rubricated throughout, some scattered staining, overall in excellent condition.

The work is famous, however, for the fifth section on witches and witchcraft, beginning with a discussion of the various colors of ants. The section would be an important source for the Malleus Maleficarum, which would reprint extracts from it. Nider discusses the relationships between witches and demons, details on the gatherings of witches, and argues that most witches were women due to their inferior moral, physical and intellectual capabilities which made them more susceptible to demons. Indeed, Nider’s Formicarius is a crucial early source to depict witches as uneducated women.

Johannes Nider (ca. 1380-1438), a German Dominican theologian, first authored the Formicarius in the mid-1430s during the Council of Florence. First printed in circa 1475 by Ulrich Zel, two other incunable editions would follow by Guldenschaff (Cologne, 1480) and Sorg (Augburg, 1484). The first edition, however, is very rare, with no example appearing on the market in the last half century.

Provenance: The General Theological Seminary.

Hain-Copinger 11831; GW M26847; Goff N174; BM 15th cent., I, p. 194 (IB. 3006); Polain 2849; Bodleian Lib. 15th cent., N-076; ISTC in00174000.