William Thomas Stead - Blanke Slavinnen: De handel in meisjes in de XIXe eeuw

[William Thomas Stead] - Blanke Slavinnen: De handel in meisjes in de XIXe eeuw - Arnhem / Nijmegen - Gebrs. E. & M. Cohen - [c. 1900] - [Later edition - [64] pp - Paper wrappers - 14 x 20 cm.

Condition: Vulnerable - restored copy, with wear and contemporary owner's entry. See more info below.

Antiquarian brochure with Dutch translation of the amazing - sometimes disconcerting - report of the Pall Mall Gazette (and other sources) about 19th century prostitution in London. Text printed in two columns. With a head-piece (ornament in Jugendstil / Art Nouveau style).

The Arnhem publishers took over this title from the fund of H. Pijttersen Tz. from Sneek. Rare item; this edition not to be found in the public collections. Picarta does give a 2nd edition by Pyttersen from 1885. This reprint can be dated somewhere between 1890 and 1905. In the postscript, the editors discuss the allegations of 'sensationalism' by the Arnhemsche Courant. Cf. Ewoud Sanders in 'Onder de toonbank' (2018) p. 279.

This battered copy was restored as well as possible by master binder Hans Zegveld. Previously applied acidic tape was removed; the binding was repaired and the spine reinforced with professional bookbinder's glue.

¶ Editor-in-chief William Thomas Stead (1849-1912) and some fellow journalists spent four weeks on the fringe of the English capital. Despite the described 'vices of Gomorrah', the author does not divulge his sources. "Het was mijn doel niet om misdadigers te doen straffen maar om de werking van een groot misdadig stelsel aan het licht te brengen. Ik ben een onderzoeker, geen verklikker."