205 - PINDER (Wilhelm) GERMAN CATHEDRALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES.

PINDER (Wilhelm) GERMAN CATHEDRALS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Königstein im Taunus, Karl Robert Langewiesche Verlag, [circa 1950–1960]. Large 8vo (approx. 27 × 19 cm), paperback, with the publisher’s blue photographic dust jacket; the front cover features an illustration of Mainz Cathedral. “Die Blauen Bücher” series. Abundant black-and-white photographic illustrations, mostly full-page, devoted to the great German medieval cathedrals: Mainz, Hildesheim, Speyer, Worms, Cologne, etc. An important popular history by art historian Wilhelm Pinder (1878–1947) devoted to German Romanesque and Gothic religious architecture. The first edition was published in 1910. It was a tremendous success: the book went through 27 editions by 1969, with some 455,000 copies printed. Your copy clearly belongs to a later edition, not the original. Unfortunately, the photographs provided show neither the “printed” mark nor any print run information that would allow for a precise dating of the copy. By way of comparison, the 1955 edition bears the notation “354,000–374,000” and comprises 111 pages; a 1927 edition had 125 pages, 109 reproductions, and 13 maps. This copy is preserved in its original blue dust jacket. The dust jacket is rubbed, with minor wear and slight tears along the edges; there are a few stains. The original price of “20” is written in pencil on the title page. The interior is in generally good condition.