First Work of Costa Rican Literature in English, in a 1905 Jacket
Cuentos Ticos: Short Stories of Costa Rica
Publication: Cleveland, OH: The Burrows Brothers Company, 1905. First Edition.
Notes: A landmark of Costa Rican literature in translation in the rare 1905 dust jacket.
First published in Spanish in San José in 1901, Cuentos Ticos includes ten stories by Fernández Guardia preceded by Gray Casement’s introductory essay, “A Central American Arcadia.” This edition is the first Costa Rican literary work translated into English; its reception was sufficient to produce second and third editions.
Fernández Guardia, a diplomat and historian, was a key figure in early 20th century Costa Rican letters. This is one of his best known works. Two of the stories invoke folklore and the supernatural, giving this collection a place in the early fantasy literature.
[12], 293, [2, map of Costa Rica], [1:blank] pages. Illustrated with half-tone photographs.
Edition + Condition: First edition (stated; a second edition appeared in 1908). Binding loose, else very good in blue cloth stamped in gilt. With a number of library stamps (Biblioteca del Liceo) to the preliminary pages and an inscription on the front pastedown, "Obsequio de Eduardo Zamora Ulloa, Secretario del Liceo, a Sr. Carlos Meissner." In the very rare dust jacket, which has faded from bright pink to light pink. Virtually unknown in a jacket. Meissner may be a business owner and legislator from Paraná, Brazil, or his son, a diplomat, of the same name.
Item No: #366394
Sold