ICH DENKE DEIN. [I THINK OF YOU]

Stuttgart: Greiner und Pfeiffer, [ca, 1887]. 197 x 140 mm. (7 3/4 x 5 1/2"). 4 p.l., 200, VIII pp.
Very pretty publisher's original blue cloth, covers with bevelled edges decorated in blind, upper cover with ornate central panel in black and gold, a spray of gilt roses bound by a small banner bearing the title in blue, the black background densely adorned with curling gilt vines, flat spine with decorative gilt title banner, gray moiré-textured endpapers, all edges gilt. IN THE ORIGINAL PICTORIAL DUST JACKET AND CARDBOARD SLIPCASE (the jacket backed with paper to repair chips at head edge, the slipcase slightly worn). With additional color-illustrated title page and numerous wood engravings by R. C. Kepler, 11 of these full-page. Page provided for "Dedication" inscribed to Pauline Spahlinger, dated Stuttgart, 20 Aug[ust] 1887. ◆One opening with faint offsetting (from old bookmark?), otherwise A PRETERNATURALLY FINE COPY, clean and fresh internally with a pristine binding, a still-appealing dustjacket, and a surprisingly well preserved slipcase.

This charming gift book filled with German poems of "love and loss, joy and suffering" looks almost exactly as it did when it was presented to Fraulein Spahlinger on a summer day in 1887. The original dust jacket has sustained some wear (probably from being taken from and returned to its sturdy slipcase) but is a remarkable survival, most 19th century dust jackets having been either thrown away by early owners or having fallen to pieces over time. Thanks to the presence of its protective coverings, the romantic cover of our volume is sparkling and unworn, retaining all of its original appeal..