knorrende beesten

For lovers of Dutch literature of the 20th century the first edition of Bordewijks ‘knorrende beesten’ (1932) is a well known and  collectible item. The story is a very modern tale about cars. Typography and cover are by Kees Strooband.

I saw it listed in a catalogue and bought it (€ 110). It wasn’t that expensive and the lady that sold it to me said it was a nice copy. When the book arrived a week ago it appeared  to be even nicer than I intentionally thought it was.

It was inscribed by Roel Houwink, a literary critic who reviewed knorrende beesten in Opwaartsche Wegen in 1934. There was a second owners’ entry: A. Dreesman, the man who was responsible for the expansive growth of V&D in the Netherlands. Always good to know that a captain of Industry did buy antiquarian books.

A couple of days later I placed knorrende beesten on my Friday list (€ 200) and mentioned Houwink and Dreesman. Sadly I only had one copy and had to disappoint two other potential buyers.