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First edition of a true Robinson story

[ROBINSONADES].
Gevallen van den oude en jongen Robinson. Behelzende de opvoeding van den jongen Robinson tot Utrecht; zyne deugden, gebreken en Huwelyk. Vertrekt na Madera om zyn Vader uittevinden, bevegt een zeerover [...] Strand op Tabago. Word door zyn Vader van de dood gered, zonder hem te kennen. Oprechting van een nieuw gemeenebest aldaar, en keeren te zamen met veele schatten na Europa [...].
Amsterdam, Steven van Esveldt, 1753. 8vo. With an engraved frontispiece, signed by J.C. Philips, the title-page printed in red and black and with a small ornamental woodcut vignette, two woodcut decorated initials, and one ornamental woodcut tailpiece. Contemporary vellum. XVI,749,(3)p.
€ 2,750
Rare first edition of an original Dutch Robinson story. Apart from the Robinson-theme the book contains all elements most favoured in 18th-century popular literature, like a son travelling in search of his father, imprisonment by the Inquisition, fighting pirates, etc., even including returning home loaded with treasures.
Robinsonade is a literary genre of fiction wherein the protagonist is suddenly separated from civilization, usually by being shipwrecked or marooned on a secluded and uninhabited island, and must improvise the means of their survival from the limited resources at hand. The genre takes its name from the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply as a "desert island story" or a "castaway narrative".
With the bookplate of Buijnsters-Smets on the front paste-down, an inscription on the front paste-down in pencil "Staverman D 5 a" and an owner's inscription on the recto of the first free end leaf "M Buisman 31/4 '46". The binding shows some signs of wear and the boards are somewhat rubbed, the edges of the leaves are very slightly browned, not affecting the text. Overall a very good copy from the collections of M. Buisman, and Buijnsters-Smets. Buisman 679; De Vries 229; KLKL 302; Muller 169; Scheepers II, 511; Staverman D 5 a; STCN 17399752X (4 copies); Ullrich IV, 36; Waller 608.
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Literature & linguistics  >  Dutch Literature | Imaginary Voyages & Utopias
Low countries  >  Art. Architecture & Literature