Hesse's Siddhartha

I must have been sixteen or seventeen years old when I read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Then I read Demian and although I was impressed with it, I did not read Narziss und Goldmund, like many others did. I wasn't going to read anymore Hesse. Though usually, when I read two books by an author, both well, I like to read more of that particular writer. Anyway, with Hesse this was not the case.

 

Last week I found a first edition of Siddhartha, I hardly could believe my eyes. It really was the first edition of the book that had made a great impression not only with me, but with my entire generation. And it is with this book that Hesse definitively established his name as a writer. He became famous worldwide. 

The spine of the book is slightly damaged and the endpapers are a bit rusty, but otherwise it's a very nice copy of a rare and important book. It's on sale for 450 euros.

E. van Moerkerken

It is perhaps already the fifth time that I offer for sale: Reportages by photographer E. van Moerkerken. Everytime I browse it briefly and everytime I am struck by the stunning black and white photos. This time I noticed, for example, a young Simon Carmiggelt.

Deventer book city

The last week of 2012 I visited Deventer. Roos-Marie and me walked along the IJssel river from Deventer to Olst. The river had burst its banks. In some places it was wider than half a mile. Formations of geese were flying by constantly. Their honking (gakgakgak) guided our footsteps. A rain-free morning, the weather forecast had predicted.They had it right, this time. We had a fantastic walk. Around half past four we arrived in Olst and it started raining. We took the train back to Deventer and walked into town, looking for our hotel (www.hoteldeleeuw.nl).

The next day I visited several antiquarian bookshops and regular ones (Deventer has a lot of them, far more than Nijmegen and wé do have a university and twice as many inhabitants as Deventer!!!). I bought a lot in different shops. I am particularly happy with a first edition of Mystiek Lichaam (Mystical Body) by Frans Kellendonk and with Fabula Rasa of Gaston Burssens, illustrated by J. Cantré and printed in 200 copies. 

I also paid a visit to the famous Athenaeum Library where I bought a small book about Geert Groote and his Modern Devotion movement. I came to know that in the fifteenth century, there were special houses for women. These houses were no monasteries, but the women who lived there devoted their lives to God. Rector Egbert ter Beke wanted two adjacent womenhouses to merge. He broke off the compound wall between the two houses without consulting the women. In this way,Ter Beke stated, women would be better supported in their desire to lead a pious life. Maybe I'm suspicious, but when I read this I couldn’t help thinking that Ter Beke might had other interests.

A good sign. 2013

2013. A new year. A good sign. Fresh start, new energy, stuff like that. In the nineties we were publishers as well. We didn't do that for a long period. It took too much time and we hardly made a profit. It was fun though and we produced some really nice books. Most of them can be considered as artistbooks. 'Een goed teken' (A good sign) is one of them. It's a poem by J.B.Charles, printed in 35 copies by Martien Frijns.

I loved the poem and together with a friend of mine I used the poem in a piece of music. You can hear it and see it as well. This is a (poor) translation:

That's where the man stopped,

He picked up the object

and held it in front of him

to take a good look at it

he turned it upside down

and back again

and concluded with satisfaction:

this is a good sign.