Marked Proofs for Borrow’s Gospel of Luke
Criscote e Majaró Lucas, chibado andré o Romano ó chipé es Zincales de Sesé. El Evangelio segun S. Lucas, traducido al Romaní, ó dialecto de los Gitanos de España.
Londra: [Printed by William Clowes and Sons], 1871.
Price: $3,000.00
About the item
Proof copy, gatherings C, D, and E marked for corrections. Revised and corrected by Borrow from his 1837 translation. 116, [1] pp. Collation A-E12. 1 vols. 12mo. Marked Proofs for Borrow’s Gospel of Luke. Full cream vellum, boards ruled in blue, marbled pastedowns, untrimmed sheets. Remains of ownership signature on upper board, Geo Hy Borro[w]. Bookplate removed, else fine. Half morocco slipcase and cloth wrapper. Darlow and Moule 4543 edition dated 1872, published by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Collie and Fraser pp. 116-7; OCLC 81611475 (Huntington).
Item #321050
George Borrow (1803-1881) spent most of his thirties as a representative of the British and Foreign Bible Society, first in Russia and then in the Iberian Peninsula from 1835 to 1840. “In Spain, civil war made his expeditions risky, while the hostile attitude of the authorities, coupled with his own provocative approach, led twice to his imprisonment. … In Madrid the Bible Society financed the printing of St Luke's gospel translated into Spanish Romani by Borrow and Gypsy friends” (ODNB). His account of his adventures, The Bible in Spain (1843), was his first literary success. Other works included Lavengro, The Romany Rye, and Wild Wales.
These are a set of Borrow’s marked proofs for this second edition of the Gospel of St. Luke (first printed in Madrid, 1837). Gathering C is marked Revise May 27/72 with five corrections on pp. 59 and 69; gathering B is marked 2nd Revise Aug. 9/71 and corrects the running head Majaro to Majaró on the left hand pages, with some 22 corrections to the text; gathering E is marked 10th Revise Feb. 9/72 with one marginal note on p. 116.
Of this 1871 proof, OCLC records only the copy at the Huntington with corrections in George Borrow's hand (bound in polished brown calf, marbled end-papers, gilt top; purchased from Maggs, Cat. 1924, item 443). Collie and Fraser note a handful of other proofs, citing copies at Fales (NYU), Berg (NYPL), Brotherton (Leeds), Liverpool, and in the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich.
A rare proof from Borrow’s late career, returning to a work from his early adventures.
