Two separately published works by the Reformer Johann Locher, addressed to the German folk hero "Karsthans"

Johann Locher was an Observant Franciscan at Ulm who later became a vociferous advocate of Luther's program of reform. Persecuted for his reformist sympathies, he eventually took refuge in Zwickau, where he published extensively between 1523 and 1524, writing against the injustices visited upon the lower classes and the corruption of the Church. He left Zwickau for Munich in late 1524, just as the Peasants' War was breaking out. He was arrested and executed in November 1524, becoming one of the first evangelical martyrs. These two books, both extremely rare, are bound in modern, uniform quarter-vellum bindings. It is clear that they were previously bound together and so are now being offered as a pair. The brief descriptions of the books presented below are followed by an in-depth discussion of the works. I. LOCHER'S FIRST LETTER TO KARSTHANS: Locher, Johann (d. 1524) Ein Claglicher Sendtbrieff des Baurnveyndts zu Karsthannsen seynem Pundtgnossen, mit Radt vnd Trost, Die ganntz Christenhayt belangendt. [Zwickau:] 'Gedruckt durch Johann Locher von München' [but Jörg Gastel for Johann Schönsperger the Younger], 1524 Quarto: 17.6 x 14.1 cm. [9] lvs. A4, B2, C4 (-blank C4) ONE OF TWO EDITIONS, both by Gastel for Schönsperger (see Reske/Benzing 1055.) Bound in modern uniform quarter parchment and drab boards. A very good, crisp copy with a few sidenotes lightly shaved and some light fraying in the inner margin of the title page. With a small woodcut of a Christian knight on the title within a decorative woodcut frame and printed manicules in the text. No copies traced in North America. This is the first of two letters by Locher (writing under the pseudonym Hans Rott) addressed to "Karsthans", "Hans of the Hoe", the folk figure most closely associated with the plight of the German peasants who yearned for social justice and championed the cause of Church Reform. Originally a character of derision, Karsthans "became symbolic of the simple, hard-working, unsophisticated peasant whose common sense, simple trust in God, love of truth, and Biblical knowledge confounded trained theologians."(Packull) "The provocative words of abuse by Johann Locher against the conditions of his time reach their climax in his two epistles to Karsthans, in which he angrily calls for open resistance in both the secular and religious realms. On the title of the first incendiary letter, the author strangely describes himself as an 'enemy of the peasants', although throughout the text he proves himself to be their friend. The two epistles. are among the most passionate outbursts of the grumbling 'little people' of the cities and the agitated peasants of the countryside." (Schottenloher, Wer ist Johann Locher von München?, in: Der Buchdrucker Hans Schobser, 1925, pp. 120 ff.). "Locher's letters are among the loudest harbingers of the Peasants' War. The author uses the harshest language against the Emperor: 'Oh, you poor Christian, what is your name? My name is, I thirst for human blood. I must increase the devil's kingdom by shedding blood, and that is why I am cursed by God and despised by men.' He describes how bailiffs and henchmen seek the sweat of the poor day and night, exploiting and 'shaming' them. Wild game, created by God freely and for the benefit of all people, is more strictly forbidden to the peasants than adultery, brawling and fornication." (Rosen, Cat. Neufforge no. 91) VD 16 3384; Panzer p. 382, no. 2777; Claus, Der deutsche Bauernkrieg im Druckschaffen der Jahre 1524-1526, no. 45; Claus, Die Zwickauer Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts, Vol. I, no. 66. II. LOCHER'S SECOND LETTER TO KARSTHANS: Locher, Johann (d. 1524) Ein vngewonlicher, vnd der Ander Sendtbrieff, deß Baurnfeyndts zu Karsthannsen, Der doch nit allein wider ynn Sunder der Gantzen Christenhayt entgegen ist. [Zwickau]: [Jörg Gastel for Johann Schönsperger the Younger], 1524 Quarto: 17.6 x 14.1 cm. A4, B2, C4 (-blank leaf C4) FIRST EDITION. Modern half vellum and drab boards. With a title.…