133 - [LITERATURE] - DE COSTER, Charles / KLEIN, Paul (Ill.)

[LITERATURE] - DE COSTER, Charles / KLEIN, Paul (Ill.) The Legend: The Heroic, Joyful, and Glorious Adventures of Ulenspiegel and Lamme Goedzak in Flanders and Elsewhere [Brussels], Published under the patronage of the Belgian Government, 1966 Large folio. Loose-leaf, with original filled-in cover, cardboard slipcase, and publisher’s cloth-bound case. Minor water stains at the corners of a few leaves. A prestigious and monumental art edition of this absolute masterpiece of Belgian literature, celebrating the stylistic centennial of the creation of the hero of Flanders. Originally published in 1867 by Charles De Coster, this national epic transforms the folkloric figure of Thyl Ulenspiegel into a symbol of defiance, freedom, and heroic resistance against the tyranny of the Spanish occupiers. The typographic and textual direction of this edition was overseen by the eminent academician Joseph Hanse. The work derives its bibliophilic value from its sumptuous visual design, entirely conceived by the artist Paul-Georges Klein (1918–1994): it contains 30 very large original woodcuts as inserts, fully enhanced and hand-colored. Klein’s artwork offers a spectacular expressionist reinterpretation of De Coster’s mythical universe. Total print run limited to only 115 copies; this is one of 15 extremely rare personalized copies reserved for the author, bearing the number B. A prestige edition enhanced by a precious autographed inscription by the artist Paul-Georges Klein addressed to the former Belgian Prime Minister, Théo Lefèvre (in office from 1961 to 1965, a central figure in Belgian political life during the Trente Glorieuses).