Xiegi Niektóre z Zydowskich Pism Starego Zakonu Wybrane (Selections From the Jewish Writings of the Old Testament)
Lviv: Ksiegarni H. Altenberga (Altenberg Publishing), [1904]. First edition. Hardcover. Octavo. 149pp. [2]. Illustrated grey buckram boards with lettering, decorative motifs and borders in black. Blind-stamped ruling on the back cover. Decorative endpapers. Illustrated title page. This work collects four sections from the Old Testament, translated into Polish by Jerzy Zulawski (1874-1915), with b/w woodcut illustrations from Lviv born artist Wilhelm Wachtel (1875-1952). The first section contains passages from the Book of Ezekiel, the second from the Book of Job, the third from Proverbs, and the final section from Song of Songs. The beautiful and striking images throughout the text include four full page illustrations (at the beginning of each section), as well as smaller illustrations, and historiated initials and tailpieces throughout. The images, especially the initials contain strong Art Noveau elements, and are remenicent of Aubrey Beardsley and Ephraim Mose Lilien. Final pages includes publisher's advertisements.
Text throughout printed in verse format in Polish.
Binding with some light stains to the covers, and light rubbing to corners. Light stains to the top and bottom edge of the book block. Binding shaken, reinforced with japan tissue along the interior gutters. Starting at p.16, 48, 64, 112, 128 and 144. Library ink stamp at the bottom of the front free endpaper. Text and images throughout clean and bright. Binding in good, interior in very good- condition overall. Binding protected in modern mylar. Scarce. g to vg-. Item #48520
Jerzy Zulawski (1874-1915) was a prominent Polish literary figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During his career he worked as a novelist, playwright, poet, translator and philosopher. He is considered a pioneer of science-fiction with "The Lunar Trilogy" of science-fiction novels (1901-1911), his most famous work. Being a Polish patriot his served in the Polish military during WWI, and died after contracting typhus on the front lines in 1915. The author's grandnephew, Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski, infamously attempted to adapt the the Lunar Trilogy for the screen in the 1970s, without success.
Price: $450.00