Barbara Julia de Krüdener, *Waleria, or the Letters of Gustaw Linar to Ernest G*, Parts I–II in 1 vol. [1822]

The Polish edition of the epistolary novel by Barbara Julia de Krüdener (1764–1824), a writer and mystic active in European literary life during the Romantic era. “Walerya” belongs to the sentimental-romantic prose genre that was popular at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries; we learn about the characters’ fates through their letters. This Warsaw edition demonstrates how enthusiastically Western European belles-lettres were received in the Kingdom of Poland at the beginning of the 19th century.

A complete copy in a contemporary half-leather binding. On the endpaper is an ex-libris by Agnieszka Weinberg with a catalog number; in vol. II, a bookplate on the reverse of the half-title page and traces of it on the title page; on the back endpaper, a sticker reading “Jerzy Weinberg’s Book Collection in Łódź.” Visible soiling and discoloration on the pages.

The Weinbergs were an intellectual family from Łódź who were involved in the city’s cultural life in the 20th century. Jerzy Weinberg’s book collection was carefully labeled and numbered, which gives this copy additional documentary value.

An item from the 14th Polish Antiquarian Book Auction.