Babette's Feast

[Covelo, California]: [The Yolla Bolly Press], 1997. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Wikstrom, Karin. One of 250 copies, folio size, 57 pp., signed by Richard Olney and Karin Wikstrom, with prospectus. Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (1885-1962), known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, wrote in both Danish and English, and is best known for her memoir "Out of Africa", an account of her life in Kenya on a coffee farm. Her story "Babette's Feast", written in the summer of 1949, did not appear in print until 1958, as part of a collection; it is about Babette, a French Communard who escapes France and settles in a small Norwegian fishing village, employed (truncated) by two spinster sisters as their housekeeper. Unbeknownst to the sisters, Babette is a renowned Parisian chef, and she prepares a meal for the sisters and their guests which is "spiritually transforming. Babette's artistry is such that old suspicions melt away. . .and everyone at the table departs in an altered state. Dinesen and her heroine have given us a hugely entertaining fable in which bodily and spiritual appetites are satisfied, rendering irrelevent. . .the dichotomy between aesthetics and morality" (per the prospectus).

Included in this publication by The Yolla Bolly Press are woodcuts by Swedish artist Karin Wikstrom (b. 1959), who has contributed illustrations for several other Press editions, including "The Inland Whale" by Theodora Kroeber and "Zapata" by John Steinbeck. Here, her playful and evocative prints create tangible visuals of the characters and setting in this moving story of rejuvenation and compassion. Richard Olney (1927-1999), American cook and food writer best known for his books on French country food, provides an afterword to the book, examining the intricacies and history of the food and wine prepared by Babette in the story. A gorgeous edition of Dinesen's fable that exhibits the humanity and spiritual connections formed through the communion of a meal.

___DESCRIPTION: Quarter navy cloth with purple and navy patterned paper boards, woodcut of a turtle printed in purple on brown paper inset on the front board, bottom edge uncut, purple endpapers, title page with turtle woodcut, nineteen woodcuts, two of which are full-page printed in three colours, by Karin Wikstrom throughout; Pegasus and Albertus types, English Somerset paper, folio size (13" by 9.25"), pagination: [i-iv] 1-51 [52] [1 colophon], one of 250 copies, this number 136, signed by Richard Olney and Karin Wikstrom on the colophon. Included is the prospectus with two woodcuts from the book by Wikstrom, one sheet folded once. In a slipcase covered with purple laid paper and with black lettering on the spine.

___CONDITION: Fine overall; the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings; other than a few light spots of foxing on the fore-edge of the text block, as new. The slipcase also fine overall, strong and sturdy, clean and without wear, with some sunning on one side. The prospectus is fine, clean and without wear.

___POSTAGE:  International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: 24061411)