In trying to find the best translations of E.T.A. Hoffmann (any suggestions?), I stumbled upon a 2-volume set from the University of Chicago Press, 1969. I didn't realize the edition would have full-color, psychedelic-60s illustrations by Jacob Landau. It was only $10.
The full title: Selected Writings of E.T.A. Hofmann, edited and translated by Leonard J. Kent and Elizabeth C. Knight.
The second volume includes the full novel Tomcat Murr.
The volumes are encased in an illustrated box:
Trying to read every story available, I've sampled many Hoffmann colelctions, but I can't say I have any opinion on the translations. With no German, they all seem OK to me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the U of C edition does have the crucial Hoffmann bibliography. Hugely helpful.
Gavarni was a 19th century French illustrator of Hoffmann. Dostoevsky mentions his illustrations for Kater Murr in the first chapter of his novel Humiliated and Insulted. I have been trying to hunt down these illustrations, but they are extremely elusive.
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