This book is a Danish title about Aesop’s Fables, written by Christian Winther and published in Copenhagen by Philipsens Forlag in 1859.  The title reads Fabler Af Aesop, and the book has a beautiful gilt-decorated spine and front cover, with blank endpapers and the name “Lars Friedrich Torbjorn Koch” stamped on the front flyleaf, then the title page, a table of contents which lists 203 fables by Aesop, there are 24 black and white illustrations and 155 pages of text, and we believe the illustrations were done by Croesnit.

Christian Winther (1796 - 1876) was one of the greatest Danish poets of the 19th century. He was born in Fensmark, near Naestved, where his father was the vicar. He went to the University of Copenhagen in 1815 and studied theology, receiving his degree in 1824. His first verse was published in 1819, but no collected works appeared until 1828, and based on his lyric poems, King Christian VIII of Denmark appointed Winther to travel to Mecklenburg in 1841 to instruct his daughter, Princess Mariane, on the occasion of her betrothal to the Crown Prince of Denmark, and in 1851 he was given a pension from the state, which allowed him to pay off    his debts and work in peace for the rest of his life. 

He loved nature and is best known for his poem “Hjortens Flugt” - The Stag’s Flight - which is considered to be one of the classics of Danish literature, and he influenced many Danish lyric poets who came after him. 

The book is in great condition and measures 7 1/4 x 5 inches wide, with a tight binding and clean pages and text, and just light bumps at the heel and crown and at the tips, and we couldn’t find copies of this title listed anywhere online or on the rare book website we use,     so a rare book indeed by a great Danish poet. 

Size: 7 1/4 x 5 in. 

#5462