80/63 Cramer R De rattenvanger van Hameln Een kindervertelling op rijm uit het Engelsch Dutch transl by A Donker

- Fine copy. = Burgers p.166. Rarely found in full cloth. Probably the deluxe edition.

- Some defects.

= Comprises i.a. B. Vos, Het prentenboek van Gijsbert Jan (Utr., (1920), 13 full-p. tinted plates, and orig. clothbacked boards by R. Cramer, 4to), A. Donker, De rattenvanger van Hameln (The Hague, (±1936), ills. and orig. cordbound cl. by R. Cramer, obl. 4to), R. Cramer, Gullivers reizen (Bilthoven/ Antw., (1953), ills. by A. Rackham and R. Cramer, orig. cl., 4to), R. Cramer, Lente/ Zomer/ Herfst (Utr., (±1911), 3 vols., 2nd/ 3rd ed., ills. and unif. hcl. by R. Cramer, sq. sm. 8vo) and L. Roggeveen, Roodkapje (The Hague, (1937), ills. and orig. hcl. by R. Cramer, obl. 4to).

80 67 Drawings Anonymous late 19th/ early 20th cent

= The Flemish-Dutch monthly De Arbeid (year 4, no.6) published a text/ poem "Mijmeringen van een kind" by J.B. Verschueren was published (dated 1901, Antwerp), without these illustrations. The drawings probably show a caricature of the author and illustrate the first part of the text, with the subtitle "Bij Zonne-ondergaan": (....) t is of ik staar in t groot bebloed gelaat van een het hoofd omwonden krijger [drawing II]. Nu drommen er hoog-verre, van bezijen, dik-donkere wolken aan die trage lang-zich-rekken naar omlage ter zonne toe. Loomlog lijken ze me als groote luie beesten die dom-weg vóór- zich-uit-en-stoeien, wrijvend met hun hooge ruggen over het mooie, stil-waterig bleek-groene gelochte dat ze somber vlekken [drawing III] (...) Nu zien zer wel uit lijk vervaarlike, reusachtige draken uit de mooie wondervertelsels, lijk leelike, booze monsters, die met groot-opene muilen de schoone, lieve zonne gulzig bedreigen . . . [drawing IV] Reeds bloost ze geweldig door in hunne schrikkelijke kaken die branden - en bloed lekt hen uit de muilen [drawing V]. Nu zie ik langzaam brokkelen hun groote koppen tot kleine verkoolde klompjes, die half-nog gloeien in het mooie stille zonnevuur (...) [drawing VI]". Nothing was found by us on the author or these drawings.

- Contents fine. Bindings sl. rubbed/ frayed/ worn along extremities.

= Interesting and charming "Christmas Journals", full of tales and poems and not devoid of some merry humor, sarcasm and irony. The origins and authors are untraced (only reference: "Printed [sic] at the Dab Works, Holland"), the editor(s)/ writer(s)/ illustrator(s) identifying themselves as The Monkey, The Tweet, The Dab, The Mouse and The Mole (also the main characters of the stories). In the introductory texts, the German (and Dutch) parts are said to be made "by Special Request"/ "auf vielseitiges Verlangen". Nice and often excellent drawings, probably by one and the same artist (contrary to what is made to believe), the illustrations and typescript text nicely integrated with one another and sometimes in comic-strip lay-out. Every book contains at least one contest, e.g. asking the readers to guess how many illustrations or pages or stories the journal contains, and some puzzles. Some stories/ poems in the 1939 Journal refer to the war and economically troublesome times ("For Man and Beast" ("The terrible thing had happened - war was declared - and everyone was collecting provisions (...)"), "Distributie Bons [sic]. Poème d'Octobre van A.AP" and "Luftschutz"). The "Dedication" (introduction) on the first page of the 1937 journal: "With a sorrowful heart we put this poor attempt of badly written matter, accompanied, be it said with sadness, by some very crude and ill-chosen drawings (...). With great trepidation we let those Illustrious Characters - The Dab, The Tweet, The Mouse and The Mole appear once more to our shocking drivel, hoping that our Paragons of Readers may not turn away (...). With three Kow-Tows and Wishing Our Honourable Readers a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous and Plenteous New Year, we retire (...) to the Coal Hole where in deep repentance we will try to atone for this paltry Xmas Journal." The other two introductions are much more positive. Some tales: "Titterwit or Autumn Nuts" (by The Tweet), "Was He Cheated? The Tale of a Dragon's Fate!" (written and illustrated by The Tweet), some stories featuring "The Skeleton Nun", "The beautiful Homes of England" (a comic by The Tweet, showing a car driving by high hedges and walls and seeing no manors whatsoever), "Die Frite Pan. Eine weinerliche Geschichte von Liesemaus, gedichtet von Dab und Tweet, mit prächtigen farbigen Bildern von "Affchen"", "Grapes and The Monkey" (short comic strip), "Ard The Armoured Ram-Dragon" and "Der Platzvervänger" ("Santa Claus war krank (...). Der Schwarze Piet war in Verzweiflung! Was sollte er tun?").