FIRST DANISH "DON QUIXOTE"
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL de.
Den Sindrige Herremands Don Quixote af Mancha, Levnet og Bedrifter. Oversat, efter det i Amsterdam og Leipzig 1755, udgivne Spanske Oplag, af Charlotte Dorothea Biehl. 4 vols.
Kiöbenhavn, Gyldendal, 1776 - 1777.
8vo. 4 volumes, uncut in publisher's original blue boards. Printed on heavy paper. Rebacked using old blue paper. Boards with marks and stains. Ex-libris and a few annotations in pencil to verso of front board. A few pages slightly stained but overall a very nice copy. The only copy we have seen on thick paper. Engraved frontispiece-portait of Carvantes (by Meno Haas) and 28 engraved plates by Georg Haas and Preisler.
The rare first Danish translation of Cervantes’ Don Quixote, illustrated with elegant Rococo-style engravings copied from the French folio edition of 1746, is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of its time in the field of foreign literature translated into Danish. Dorothea Biehl approached the publisher Gyldendal, and a contract was drawn up. However, prior to this, she had already issued a prospectus and secured 350 subscribers. To honor this commitment, Biehl arranged to have 500 copies printed at her own initiative. Of these, Gyldendal agreed to take over the remaining 150 copies. In addition, Gyldendal was permitted to print a further 500 copies at its own expense, and the copperplates were transferred to the publisher. For each set sold, Biehl was to receive 600 rix-dollars. This particular copy is one of the original 500 printed on thick paper, and includes both the subscriber’s list and the Gyldendal title page.
Order-nr.: 62119
DKK 20.000,00