List 115: Selection of books on view at the Amsterdam Bookfair 2025
Prices are INCLUDING 9% Dutch VAT.
1. [Second publication of Spinoza, published anonymously] - Tractatus Theologico-Politicus Continens dissertationes aliquot, quibus ostenditur libertatem philosophandi non tantum salva pietate, & reipublica pace posse concedi: sed eandem nisi cum pace reipublicae, ipsaque pietate tolli non posse.
Hamburgi [= Amsterdam], apud Henricum Künrath [= Jan Rieuwertsz], 1670, (after 1677). 4to. Contemp. vellum. 2 slight dents in frontboard. Binding very slightly warped.[2 blanks, 12], 233, [1, blank] pp. A few leaves very slightly foxed. Traces of ticket on first free endpaper. Shelf number in pen on upper pastedown. Exceptionally well preserved, completely in original state. Fine copy. EUR 13,000.--
~Kingma-Offenberg 7 (T5). Bamberger 684. "The purpose of the State is freedom". This is a central theme of the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Spinoza's second publication is a passionate appeal for freedom of thought and self-expression. The conditions for a secular, democratic states are formulated in a superior way. With the publication, Spinoza clearly takes position in the ongoing power struggle in the republic, risking his scientific carreer and his life. The book appeared anonymously, under fictitious imprint, but to many it was no secret that the author was `the atheist Jew from Voorburg'. From the beginning the book was under constant attack of the clergy. Spinoza's allies in high places could not prevent the book from being banned, but for a long time they managed to avoid effective measures against it.
First edition, fifth issue. Probably printed after 1677. Kingma/ Offenberg, in their introduction to the complicated printing history of the book, argue that in spite of all the research the problem of the sequence of the 1670-dated issues is not yet definitively solved.
2. [First publication of Spinoza] - Renati Des Cartes Principiorum Philosophae Pars I, & II, More Geometrico demonstratae per Benedictum de Spinoza per Amstelodamensem Accesserunt Eiusdem Cogitata Metaphysica (...).
Amsterdam, 1663. Contemporary vellum, slightly warped, slightly soiled with 2 dark (ink?)stains, remainder of library label on spine. (16),140 pp., woodcut ill. on title-p. and 20 mathematical and scientific ills. in text. Small inkstain from lower edge in Q2 and 4. A very good copy. EUR 10,000.--
~Van der Linde 1; Kingma/ Offenberg 1; cat. Wolf coll. 356; Fürst III, p.358; Schmidt-Biggeman 23: While working on his Ethica, Spinoza took a short time out to dictate to his pupil Johannes Caesarius his commentary on Descartes' Principia philosophiae. Friends of Spinoza had the work published by the free-thinker, Jan Rieuwertsz, the first and only publication of Spinoza with his own name on the title. Lodewijk Meyer wrote the preface. At the end the Cogita Metaphysica (Metaphysical Thoughts) foreshadowing concepts later elaborated in the Ethica. Spinoza always spoke about Descartes with great esteem and respect. This work is historically significant not only for an understanding of what Descartes meant to Spinoza, but also for an appreciation of the development of Spinoza's thought (David Bidney, spinoza. Ealier Philosophical Writings, 1963).
3. [Dutch 17th century forbidden dictionary.] - [ADRIAEN KOERBAGH]. - Een bloemhof van allerley lieflijkheyd sonder verdriet geplant door Vreederyk Waarmond, ondersoeker der waarheyd, tot nut en dienst van al die geen die der nut en dienst uyt trekken wil. Of een vertaaling en uytlegging van al die Hebreusche, Grieksche, Latynse, Franse en andere vreemde bastaart-woorden en wijsen van sprecken, die ('t welk te beklaagen is) soo in de Godsgelertheyd, regtsgeleertheyd, geneeskonst, als in andere konsten en weetenschappen, en ook in het dagelijks gebruyk van spreeken, in de Nederduytse taal gebruykt worden.
Amsterdam, gedrukt voor den schrijver, 1668. Small 8vo. Contemp. mottled calf, gilt decorated spine. Wear to binding, slight damage to corners and ends of spine. Bookseller's ticket inner frontcover. [16], 672 pp. First free endpaper lacking. Slight age-browning, especially the first half of the textblock. Occasional spots. On the whole a good copy. EUR 1,500.--
~Adraen Koerbagh (1632-1669), physician and Cartesian philosopher, friend of Spinoza. He died in prison. See Meinsma, "Spinoza en zijn kring", p. 296-319. The work is very rare, because it was banned immediately after publication and largely destructed. Wolf 668, Bamberger 5 (`one of the most important early Spinozana'). In this work, in which Lodewijk Meijer's Nederlandsche woordenschat (1663) is used as a source, some of Meijer's purist translations were substituted by explanations taken from Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan and ideologically motivated explanations.
4. [First edition of the famous work starting the "Pantheismusstreit"] - [FRIEDRICH HEINRICH JACOBI]. - Ueber die Lehre des Spinoza in Briefen an den Herrn Moses Mendelssohn.
Breslau, Gottl. Löwe, 1785. Contemp. half mottled leather, gilt decorated spine. Binding sl. worn, with damage mainly to corners and outer cover-edges. Later endpapers.[8], 1-48, [8], 49-215, [1] pp. Pp. 11/12 misbound. Red edges. Some tiny wormholes. Faded owner's stamp and handwritten owner's name and date on titlepage. EUR 900.--
~First edition. Anonymously published. Originally this edition contained an extra cancel/page (11/12) as a replacement in case Goethe's poem Prometheus, published here, unauthorized for the first time, had to be removed. In this unique copy the original page 11/12 was replaced (mistakenly converse). Nevertheless the poem Prometheus is present, bound after p. 48, but misbound with the 2 leaves of the other Goethe poem: Edel Sey der Mensch, which in many copies is present in the foreword. This copy without the extra leaf "Nachricht des Verlegers" at the end. Meyer, Moses Mendelssohn Bibliographie 333. Bamberger 564.
5. [First American publication of any of Spinoza's works.] - The Ethics of Benedict de Spinoza. Demonstrated after the method of geometers, and divided into five parts, in which are treated separately: I. Of God. II. Of the soul. III. Of the affections or passions. IV. Of man's slavery, or the force of the passions. V. Of man's freedom, or the power of the understanding. From the Latin. With an introductory sketch of his life and writings.
New York, D. van Nostrand, 1876. Orig. green cloth, gilt lettering on spine. Ends of spine and corners slightly worn. Small scratch on frontboard.xxxvii, [1], 338 pages 22,5 cm. Very good copy. EUR 600.--
~Translator's preface signed: D.D.S. Boucher, Spinoza in English nr. 21: D.D.S. "usually identified as Daniel Drake Smith". Very rare.
6. JACOB (ISRAEL) DE HAAN. - "Pijpelijntjes" (Het leven van Cor Koning en Felix Deelman). 2e druk.
Amsterdam, Jacq. van Cleef, 1904. Orig. green wrappers, detached, worn and discoloured, frontcover slightly chipped, large part of spine lacking,. 4, 228 pp.; textblock loosening otherwise internally good. Small signature of former owner on title-page. EUR 290.--
~Probably the first novel containing openly explicit homo-erotic scenes. Rare copy in its orig. wrappers of the second edition, published in November 1904, revised by De Haan after the first edition (published in june 1904) was withdrawn from trade by Arnold Aletrino (et al.) because he recognized himself as one of the main characters. The second version, totally rewritten, was certainly not less explicit in its gay contents The book is set in the Amsterdam working-class neighborhood "De Pijp", hence its title. In 1904, the author was 23 years old. Despite of the defects a complete and internally good copy.
7. EPHRAIM MOSES LILIEN. - Die Bücher der Bibel. 1. Überlieferung und Gesetz (Das Fünfbuch Mose und das Buch Josua). 2.Die Lehrdichtung (Die Sprüche, Hiob, Der Prediger, Ruth, Jona, Esther, Daniel). 3.Die Liederdichtung (Die Psalmen, Die Klagelieder, Das Hohelied). Nach der Übersetzung von Reuss. Hrsg. von F. Rahlwes. Zeichnungen von E.M. Lilien. (all published).
Braunschweig, Verlag von George Westermann, 1908, 1909, 1912. Orig. decorative cloth. Bindings with only minor wear and staining. Large 8vo. Printed in red and black. Internally clean and remarkably fresh. EUR 550.--
~First edition. Very rare in this condition. Lilien visualized the biblical stories in part through iconography from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in his famous Art-Nouveau (Jugendstil) style.
8. [Anarchist pamphlet on the First World War] - SCHUURMAN, HERMAN (1897 -1991). - De Moord (Vrije-jeugd-geschriften 1).
[Den Haag], Landelike Brosj.-Handel van het Vrije Jeugdverbond], [1921]. Orig. pictorial wrappers, stapled, with 1 tear and 1 folded corner. partially faded stamp on frontcover. 6 pp. Printed in red. Very well preserved. EUR 100.--
~VJV Vrije Jeugdverbond. Revolutionary Dutch pamphlet on the First World about who is to blame for the 10 million deaths and warning about the next world war ("zeker komende oorlog"). Schuurman is known for his anarchist pamphlet: Werken is Misdaad, 1924 (Work is a crime) Extremely rare. OCLC 943269996 Present in only 3 libraries worldwide.
9. [Yiddish translation] - BARUCH (BENEDICTUS) SPINOZA. - Der Teologish-politisher Traktat. Volständig übersetzt durch N. Perlman (Perelman).
New York, Farlag M. Jankowitsch, (1923). Orig. cloth, spine and corners worn and damaged. X, 375 pp. hinges visible at the first and last quires. 2 leaves detached. Fair copy. EUR 200.--
~First complete Yiddish translation of Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. Along with "Di Etik, " also published in 1923, first Yiddish translations of Spinoza's work. Remarkable, because in the TTP, Spinoza is critical about the Jewish religion.
10. [Dutch Jewish cookbook.] - MALVINE GLÜCK and E. BRAMSON-BREST. - Geïllustreerd ritueel kookboek met diëetrecepten. 90 Figuren en afbeeldingen. Met medewerking van Rabbijn I. Vredenburg.
Amsterdam, D.B. Centen's Uitgevers-Maatschappij, 1932. Large 4to. Orig. cloth, slight wear to spine and corners. XX, 288 pp. Illustrations in the text and 32 photographic plates. With some advertisements. Owner's stamp on first two pages. paperclip-stain on p. III. Very good copy. EUR 200.--
~With introduction on the Jewish traditional kitchen.
11. [HOLOCAUST] - Philo - Atlas. Handbuch für die jüdische Auswanderung.
Berlin, Philo Verlag, 1938. Orig. printed cloth. Spine worn and partly damaged, wear to edges. (5), 283 pp. With 20 colored maps of countries and regions around the world, including one world map displaying distances from Berlin. Internally very good. EUR 450.--
~Edited by Ernst G. Lowenthal and Hans oppenheimer. Appearing in Dezember 1938, after the November Pogroms, the Philo-Atlas was the last book published by a Jewish publisher in Germany befor the war. It served as a handbook for Jewish emigration, providing urgent, practical information for German-speaking Jews facing persecution. It detailed countries' visa rules, professional opportunities, and the economic, health, and environmental conditions for potential immigrants, acting as a vital guide for survival as the Nazi regime intensified its efforts to prevent Jewish departure. The Gestapo closed down the Philo-Verlag on December 31st, 1938.
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