Ezopische Fabelen van Fedrus, gevryden slaef des Keizers Augustus. In Nederduitsch Dicht vertaelt en met Aanmerkingen verrykt door D. van Hoogstraten.

8vo (XLVIII),259,(1 blank),37,(1 blank) p. Vellum. 15.5 cm (Ref: STCN ppn 303260319; Geerebaert 125,2,a; cf. OiN p. 290) (Details: 5 thongs laced through the joints. Title in red & black. Woodcut floral ornament on the title. Woodcut initials) (Condition: Binding age-tanned and slightly spotted. Small name label on the front pastedown. 1 name and 1 small stamp on the front flyleaf. Paper slightly yellowing. Endpapers foxed) (Note: David van Hoogstraten (1658-1724) was conrector of the ‘Schola Latina’ at Amsterdam from 1694 till 1722. He wrote Dutch and neolatin poetry, and is well known for his lexicon ‘Nieuw woordenboek der Nederlantsche en Latynsche tale’ (1704, 1719, 1736). He published editions and translations of Nepos, Terentius and Phaedrus. (NNBW 831-833) This is the second edition of Van Hoogstraten’s translation of the fables of Phaedrus. The first edition, which was published in 1703 in Amsterdam by François Halma, was a more ambitious project than this modest and cheaper version. It was in quarto and had engraved plates. One year earlier, in 1701, Halma had already produced Van Hoogstraten’s scholarly Latin edition of Phaedrus, with ample commentary, which was specially made for prince Johan Willem Friso, 1687-1711, Prince of Orange (1702-1711) and ‘stadhouder’ of Friesland and Groningen. In the preface to the second edition of this translation the publisher Block tells the reader that this cheaper edition is primarily intended for young readers. He advises all family men to have their children read and reread this book. Van Hoogstraten dedicates his translation to the younger sister of Johan Willem Friso, princess Maria Amalia, 1689-1771, who was only 13 years old when it was first published. Van Hoogstraten was influential in the field of Dutch language studies in the 18th century with his work: ‘Aenmerkingen over de geslachten der zelfstandige naemwoorden’ (1700). It was his opinion that the Dutch language equalled the Greek, and that it surpassed the Latin (having no articles)) (Provenance: The name label is of one ‘Herman Spaan’. § On the flyleaf a small stamp: ‘Ex libris A. Kerckhoffs’. This might be the Dutch linguist and cryptographer Auguste Kerckhoffs, 1835-1903, who was professor of languages at the ‘École des Hautes Études Commerciales’ in Paris in the late 19th century. (See for this interesting man Wikpedia ‘Auguste Kerckhoffs’ and also ‘Kerckhoffs’s principle’. § On the flyleaf also the name of ‘H.J.’ or ‘H.I. van Reenen’) (Collation: *-3*8, A-S8 (leaf R2 verso and S8 verso blank)) (Photographs on request)