The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote De La Mancha: Complete in Two Volumes
New York: The Viking Press, 1949. First Edition, Thus. Hardcover with Dust Jacket with a Slipcase.
Considered by many scholars to be the finest modern translation of Cervantes' masterpiece, this 1949 Viking Press edition features the work of Samuel Putnam.
This two-volume boxed set presents a critical text based directly on the first editions of 1605 and 1615, stripping away centuries of mistranslation to reveal the humor and humanity of the original Spanish.
Key Features:
+++ The Translation: Samuel Putnam spent 15 years working on this translation. It was the first English version to prioritize the tone and texture of Cervantes' original Spanish over the 'quaint' or archaic styles of Victorian translators.
+++ Content: Complete in two volumes. Volume I covers Part One; Volume II covers Part Two and includes extensive bibliographies and variorum notes.
+++ Format: Bound in full black cloth with gilt spine titling. Top edges stained red. Housed in the original gold-foil slipcase with a pictorial paper label.
+++ Dust Jackets: Includes the scarce original paper dust jackets, which replicate the slipcase design.
Physical Specs:
+++ Date: 1949 (First Published September 1949)
+++ Dimensions: 2 Volumes; approx. 6.5 x 9.5 inches each.
+++ Pagination: Vol 1: v11, 489pp; Vol 2: 493-1043pp.
+++ Format: Hardcovers with Dust Jackets in Slipcase.
Condition: Fine Books / Good Dust Jackets -- The books are in exceptional condition; bindings are tight, cloth is sharp, and the red top-stain is bright. The text blocks appear unread. The dust jackets are present but fragile; they show age-toning and wear, with a split along the lower spine fold of Volume 2 (see photos). The slipcase is structurally solid but shows rubbing to the corners and minimal shelf wear to the foil paper.
When the Viking Press released Samuel Putnam’s translation in 1949, it was hailed as a literary event of the first magnitude. The New York Times and The New Yorker praised it for finally making Don Quixote readable for a modern American audience.
Unlike previous versions that treated the Knight of the Mournful Countenance as a slapstick clown, Putnam restored the dignity and tragedy of the character. This edition set the standard for Cervantes scholarship for the next fifty years.
Keywords: Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Samuel Putnam, Viking Press, Translation History, Spanish Literature, Classics, Boxed Set, First Edition Thus, Literary Criticism.
Item #21476
Price: $85.00
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