C. Vosmaer - Londinias
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C. Vosmaer - Londinias - Leiden - A.W. Sijthoff - 1873 - 1st edition - [6], 34, [2] pp - Paper wrappers - 19 x 28 cm.
Condition: Good - restored by master bookbinder Hans Zegveld from Nijmegen.
Description in hexameters of an 1872 journey to the Elgin Marbles in London by Mr. Carel Vosmaer (1826-1888); known as editor of De Nederlandsche Spectator (Flanor). Illustrated with "Greek" prints and arranged in the vein of Homer's Iliad:
"Muze, bezing mij den tocht van het viertal mannen uit Neerland / Over de schuimende zee, naar de rossenbedwingende Britten." [= "Muse, sing to me the journey of the four men from Holland / Over the foaming sea, to the steed-taming Britons."]
That four men consisted of Vosmaer himself (Aloopex); the publishers Martinus Nijhoff and G.A. van Trigt (Neaules and Porthmos respectively) and the Brussels philologist Alphonse Willems (Oïlmos). Cf. Rob van de Schoor, Three Greeks in a pre- and post-historical metropolis: A 'euhemeristic' interpretation of Carel Vosmaers Londinias (1873).
The booklet "one of the wittiest and most fascinating poems of the period of poetic renewal prior to Eighty" was first published in 1873 and many reprints were to follow. All editions are relatively scarce. This is an attractive restored copy of the FIRST EDITION!
