[Theo van Nieuwenhuis] J. Hofker - Gedachten en Verbeeldingen

Introduction Lodewijk van Deyssel. Amsterdam, S.L. v. Looy, 1906. Frontispiece etching by the author. Large 8vo. One of 50 deluxe copies bound by Amsterdam binder Jan Mensing, partly painted and giltstamped and decorated by means of batik technique. Art Nouveau leaf design by Theo van Nieuwenhuis. On laid paper, monogrammed stamp on reverse, as with every one of these copies; this copy belonged to W.P. (=Poeschmann; owner of a bookstore in Rotterdam in those days and probably friend of the author).

On reverse top and spine trifle discoloured by exposure on bookshelf. From 1889 to 1899, Hofker, under pseudonym "Delang", supplied some forty contributions to the De Nieuwe Gids. These were bundled under the title Gedachten en Verbeeldingen. According to Lodewijk van Dijssel, Hoker's prose sketches were "het fijnste dat van 1890-1900 door de Nieuwe-gids beweging is voortgebracht". The book was bundled in 1906 and published in 1907. Hofker decided to limit the edition to 50 copies. Initially only 25 of these were bound, the other copies could be bound for any future fans. This caused little interest: on 13 January 1907 only thirteen subscriptions had been received, including "een zekere Poeschmann". The W. Poeschmann bookstore in Rotterdam only existed for a short period of time. The owner died in 1852 at the age of 33, three years after opening the bookstore. His wife continued his business for a few years, but in the end could not manage. The son of the booktseller, named after his father, moved to The Hague and from 1869 to 1916 worked for the PTT in The Hague; initially as a telegraphist, eventually as head of the telegraphy department. J. Hofker, born on 29 April 1864, began his career in 1880 at the age of 16, also as a telegraphist, and eventually become chief inspector of the PTT in The Hague. Both Hofker and Poeschmann had important posts at the PTT circa 1906. It is very probable that this Poeschmann knew Hofker through his work at the PTT and for that reason subscribed for this book.