1919 · Kyiv-Viden
by Gete, I. V. fon (Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von)
Kyiv-Viden: Vernihora, 1919. Very good. First Ukrainian edition, 1 of 10 000 copies; 9 x 6 1/4; pp. [5], 6-136; rebound in black leatherette over boards and 3/4 brown cloth; gilt title to front board; portrait frontis and 12 black and white illustrations; two small bumps to top and bottom edges of front board; text block very slightly wobbly; a tiny nick to upper corner of first few leaves; small, penciled-in gift inscription to margin of first plate; very good condition.A beautiful, first Ukrainian edition of the first part of Goethe's Faust, it was translated by poet, educator, publicist, and member of the organization of revolutionary writers Zakhidnia Ukraina Dmytro Zahul (1890 - 1944). Accused of nationalism, Zahul was arrested in 1933 and sentenced to 10 years of hard labor at a Kolyma camp. He died there in the summer of 1944. The illustrator of the book, Alexander von Liezen-Mayer, nee Sandor Liezen-Mayer (1839 - 1898) was a Hungarian-German artist and illustrator, best known for his cycle of illustrations for Faust, which brought his initial fame, as well as drawings for works of Shakespeare, Schiller, etc. (Inventory #: 002781)