JF Ptak Science Books Post 1788
Johann Geiler von Kayserberg’s Navicula Penitentie (Augsurg, printed by Johann Ottmar, and printed in 1511) is a remarkable book in many ways, but what I’m concerned with here is the fantastic woodcut illustrating the title page. The book itself is a collection of penitential sermons against moral corruption in his Strassburg community—the sermons won him wide respect and some considerable fame as an orator, writer and theologian—but it is the woodcut of the ship (I’m sorry to reveal) that distracts me more. It is evidently the earliest depiction of a fully-rigged and outfitted ship, with great and accurate detail, far beyond what had been published in the previous 50 or so years of movable type printing. Presumably what we are seeing is Geiler preaching to ship full of what seem to be clerical/clergy folks rather than sailor—clearly Geiler is approaching the upper class here in the ship and not the working man.
I think that Geiler had Sebastian Brant’s 1494 Ship of Fools in mind when the great Hans Burgkmair (the “H.B” who signed this work of art) produced this seafaring image for him. Also Geiler’s publication date of 1511 is shared with Erasmus’ fantastically influential (and leading-to-the-Protestant-Reformation) book The Praise of Folly. (It was written very quickly, in about a week, and centered around conversations he had with his good friend Sir Thomas More; the Latin title of the book is a bit of a wink and a nod to More, Moriae Encomium.) The Fool, the Feast of the Fool, the Feast of the Beasts and so on were all very old institutions that allowed and tolerated the caricature and criticism of church and power structure officials—and this at a time in the Middle ages and Renaissance when such free speech by non-Fool types was strictly unacceptable. 
In the same work by Brant (“Of Useless Books”, thankfully found with all 117 of the images from the work at the University of Houston library ) we find the following image of the sage Fool.shorn of his headdress, sitting in the library, wearing glasses, and reading, surrounded by disheveled books that were clearly being used and consumed by the supposed clown. To me it shows the substantiation of the wisdom of the free-thought folly speech of the Fool, who, although clothed ridiculously, was a thoughtful, careful, well-read individual whose message much resembled the messenger.
The images in Brant's book are so singular and many of the titles so captivating I've included many from the list from Houston's table of contents, below:
Of Useless Books the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Beggars Albrecht Dürer
Of Good Counselors the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Bad Women Albrecht Dürer
Of Greed the Gnad-Her-Meister
Power of Fatuity Artist unknown
Of Newfangled Ways the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Star-Gazing Albrecht Dürer
Of Old Fools the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Wanting to Know All Regions the Gnad-Her-Meister
Of Training Children Albrecht Dürer
Not Wanting to be a Fool Albrecht Dürer
Of Trouble-Making Albrecht Dürer
Not Understanding Raillery Albrecht Dürer
Not Following Good Advice Albrecht Dürer
Wanting to Escape Consequences of Evil Albrecht Dürer
Of Bad Manners Artist unknown
Not Providing in Advance Albrecht Dürer
Of True Frienship Albrecht Dürer 
Quarreling and Going to Court Albrecht Dürer
Disdain of the Holy Scriptures the Gnad-Her-Meister
Of Crude Fools Albrecht Dürer 12 Of Hasty Fools Artist unknown
Of Becoming a Cleric Albrecht Dürer
Of Wooing Albrecht Dürer
Of Great Boasting the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Arrogance Toward God Albrecht Dürer
Of Gamblers the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Foolish Plans Albrecht Dürer
Of Oppressed Fools Albrecht Dürer
Of Gluttony and Rebelling Albrecht Dürer
Highwaymen and Lawyers Albrecht Dürer
Of Useless Death the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Foolish Messengers Artist unknown
Of Serving Two Masters the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Cooks and Waiters Albrecht Dürer
Of Much Babbling the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Peasants' Squandering Albrecht Dürer 2
Of Finding Treasure Albrecht Dürer 7
Contempt of poverty Artist unknown
Not Practicing What You Preach the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Persisting in Good Albrecht Dürer
The Teaching of Wisdom Albrecht Dürer
Not Preparing For Death Albrecht Dürer
Of Overestimating One's Fortune
Of Too Much Care the Haintz-Nar-Meister r
Of God's Plagues and Punishments Albrecht Dürer
Of Unnecessary Wishes the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Foolish Trading Albrecht Dürer
Of Useless Studying Albrecht Dürer
Of Jabbering in the Choir Albrecht Dürer
He Who Judges Others Albrecht Dürer
Of Overbearing Pride Albrecht Dürer
Of Seeking Postponement Albrecht Dürer
Expecting Inheritance Albrecht Dürer
Of Guarding Wives Albrecht Dürer
Giving and Regretting It Albrecht Dürer
Fools, Far, Near, and Forever Albrecht Dürer
Of Indolence and Sloth Imitator of the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Hasty Tempers Albrecht Dürer
Of Foreign Fools Imitator of the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of Disobedient Patients Albrecht Dürer
Stroking the Fallow Stallion Albrecht Dürer
Of Making Plans Public Albrecht Dürer
Of Blowing Into the Ears Albrecht Dürer
Of Taking Offense at, but Learning From Fools Albrecht Dürer
Of Fraud and Deception Albrecht Dürer 40 Not Paying Attention to All Talk Albrecht Dürer
Of Mocking Birds Albrecht Dürer 100 Concealing Truth Albrecht Dürer
Scorning Eternal Joy Albrecht Dürer
Of Withdrawing From Doing Good Albrecht Dürer
Noise in Church Albrecht Dürer
Of Wantonly Seeking Misfortune Albrecht Dürer
Of Not Avoiding Danger Artist unknown
Bad Example of Parents the Gnad-Her-Meister
Of Bad Table Manners Artist unknown
Keeping Secrets the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of the Joy of the Specter Artist unknown
Marrying for Money Albrecht Dürer
Of Impatience Toward Correction Albrecht Dürer
Conflict of Virtue with Pleasure Artist unknown
Of Prescribing Foolishly Albrecht Dürer
Of the End of Power Albrecht Dürer
Association of Fools the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Neglecting One's Own Interests Albrecht Dürer
Mocking of a Good Deed Albrecht Dürer
Social Ship of Mechanics Albrecht Dürer
Of Being Pleased with One's Self the Haintz-Nar-Meister
Of the Weirdness of Some New Fools Artist unknown
Of the Corrupt Way to Live of Those Who Are Ruined Artist unknown 5
Of Nocturnal Courting Albrecht Dürer
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