MEYER, C(onrad) Ferdinand. — Engelberg. Eine Dichtung.

1872 111, (1) pp. 12mo. Orig. boards, printed in red an black with decorative border on upper cover, edges gilt (slightly bumped) With Meyer's autograph dedication "Meinem l(ieben) Freunde R(udolf) Rahn" on front flyleaf. Leipzig, (O. Wigand for) H. Haessel, 1872. First edition of Meyer's (1825-1898) poem of roughly 1800 free rhyming verses in 12 chapters, written from 1871 to 1872. It was inspired by an excursion to the Engstlenalp which Meyer undertook together with his sister Betsy in the summer of 1859, when, lying in the meadows, he started to think about and formulate the poem in his mind. It contains some passages of particular beauty which are rare in his other poetry. The copy has a handwritten dedication to his friend Johann Rudolf Rahn (1841-1912), the famous Zurich art historian. - Occasional minimal foxing, title leaf about 5 mm shorter than the rest, otherwise well-preserved. _ - Gerlach 207; Borst 3165; Weber, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Ein Porträt des Dichters (exhibition cat., Zurich 1975), no. 19; Brieger 1739; Wilpert/Gühring 7; Hirschberg 425. LITERATURE: GERMAN ; HELVETICA: ALLGEMEIN ; LITERATUR: DEUTSCHE ;