Louis Couperus - Wiliswinde - 1895

With an extremely rare cover in the 'Werken' series!

Amsterdam, L.J. Veen, (1895). Unbound. (VIII), 88 p. Not cut. Not opened. 1st edition. A crack in the spine, but still a good copy of a delicate edition. Issue number ('17/18') in blue pencil on the blank cover, as is usual with this type.

Embellished Tales 164,4: 'paper cover as issue in the series Works'. Extremely rare in this edition. Matla 9c.

In mid-November 1895 the poetry collection Williswinde by Louis Couperus appeared from L.J. Veen. His regular publisher sent a complimentary copy to the Hotel du Sud in Rome, where Couperus was staying with his wife. When he had unwrapped the book, the writer had to process a disappointment. About the green cover he wrote in a letter: ‘a dirty color and with something that reminds me of a Gartenlaube on the Rhine, where we drink Rhine wine. It seems to always be a hit!’

Couperus’ critique concerns the cover design by Wenckebach, but the first edition of Williswinde has over time been issued in several different editions. The bound-in edition offered here, with the photographic portrait of Couperus on the cover, is extremely rare.

Attached

Williswinde. (With a preface by the author). Amsterdam, L.J. Veen, (1895). Sewn binding. (VIII), 88 pp. Uncut. 1st edition. Spine damaged.
VV 164,2 ('green cover with black decoration and lettering').