Louis Couperus - De stille kracht. Eerste / Tweede deel

Louis Couperus - De stille kracht. Eerste / Tweede deel - Amsterdam - L.J. Veen - 1900 - 1st edition - [4], 184, [4], 212 pp - Cloth (batik) binding - 17,5 x 21 cm.

Condition: Vulnerable - with contemporary previous owner's entry, binding as always discoloured; spine with notches and rust spots. But rare and certainly collectable.

The first edition of this novel by Louis Couperus (1863-1923), set in the Dutch East Indies. Two volumes in one 'Nieuwe Kunst' [= Art Nouveau] binding; batik design by artist Chris Lebeau; realized by Uiterwijk & Co Batikwerken, Apeldoorn and bound by J. Brandt & Zoon in Amsterdam. With decorative endpapers.

¶ According to Ernst Braches, one of the very few publishers' bindings that are actually tie-dyed. There are some colour variants; this is the purple version. Cf. Van Vliet 206, 2 ; Braches 001120 and p. 378. Decorative artist / anarchist Chris Lebau (1878-1945) was arrested by the Nazis in 1944 for helping Jewish Dutchmen. He died a year later in Dachau concentration camp.