Rare Aesop book put up for sale

The book is illustrated by special 'wood-cut' picture stamps

A 15th Century copy of fables by Aesop, the mythical pre-Christian story-teller, is to go under the hammer at a Wiltshire auction house.

The edition of Aesop's Vita et Fabulae - Life-story and fables - is one of only three known to exist.

The copy, worth more than £3,000, is to be sold by Dominic Winter Book Auctions in Swindon.

Valuer and cataloguer Chris Albury said: "Things like this are so rare. I couldn't believe it."

Published in Milan, Italy, in December, 1497, the book consists of a biography of Aesop, penned by an unknown author, and a collection of 67 fables.

Private library

Until recently, two copies of this edition were listed on an official bibliography of 15th Century literature - one in Milan, and another in Florence.

The third was discovered when Anthony Crane, the Bath-based grandson of Victorian illustrator Walter Crane, contacted Dominic Winter Book Auctions to arrange the sale of items from his private library.

The first half of the volume is an 80-page biography of Aesop.

The second part of the book is a 138-page collection of fables, including The Lion and the Pastor, The Horse and the Lion, and the Wolf and the Crane.

It is illustrated by 'wood-cut' picture stamps, made specifically for the print run.

The book will go under the hammer on 7 October.

Had the volume not had four missing pages it would be worth up to £10,000, Mr Labury said.

It is believed Aesop lived between BC 620 and BC 560.

Legend has it that he came from the Greek Island of Samos, where he is thought to have been a slave before rising to courtly circles on the strength of his story-telling abilities.