Synopsis
Robert Walser wrote many of his manuscripts in a highly enigmatic, shrunken-down form. These narrow strips of paper (many of them written during his hospitalization in the Waldau sanatorium) covered with tiny ant-like markings only a millimeter or two high, came to light only after the author’s death in 1956. At first considered a secret code, the microscripts were eventually discovered to be a radically miniaturized form of a German script: a whole story could fit on the back of a business card. Selected from the six-volume German transcriptions from the original microscripts, these 25 short pieces are gathered in this gorgeously illustrated co-publication with the Christine Burgin Gallery. Each microscript is reproduced in full color in its original form: the detached cover of a trashy crime novel, a disappointing letter, a receipt of payment. Sometimes Walser used the pages of small tear-off calendars (but only after cutting them lengthwise and filling up each half with text). Schnapps, rotten husbands, small town life, the radio, pigs (and how none of us can deny being one), jealousy, Van Gogh and marriage proposals are some of Walser’s subjects. These texts take strength from Walser’s motto: “To be small and to stay small.”
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About the Authors
Robert Walser (1878–1956) was born in Switzerland. He left school at fourteen and led a wandering and precarious existence working as a bank clerk, a butler in a castle, and an inventor's assistant while producing essays, stories, and novels. In 1933 he abandoned writing and entered a sanatorium―where he remained for the rest of his life. "I am not here to write," Walser said, "but to be mad."
Susan Bernofsky is the acclaimed translator of Hermann Hesse, Robert Walser, and Jenny Erpenbeck, and the recipient of many awards, including the Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize and the Hermann Hesse Translation Prize. She teaches literary translation at Columbia University and lives in New York.
Walter Benjamin was a German-Jewish Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. He was at times associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory and is the author of Illuminations, The Arcades Project, and The Origin of German Tragic Drama.
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The Microscripts
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
Seller: clickgoodwillbooks, Indianapolis, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: acceptable. Used - Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may be missing bundled media. Seller Inventory # 3O6XBG0010SE_ns
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Microscripts
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin, New York, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Bagatelle Books, Asheville, NC, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near fine. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo. 6.5 x 9 in. 159 pp. Translated and edited by Susan Bernofsky. Occasionally illustrated with black & white and color reproductions of Walser's microscripts. Fine in original pictorial paper-covered boards and near fine pictorial dust jacket that has minor rubbing to covers, dampstaining to interior dust jacket around spine. Still, a tight, nicely illustrated copy. Seller Inventory # 9103
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MICROSCRIPTS
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin Gallery, New York, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Fox & Hedgehog, Moraga, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. With color facsimiles of the original microsccripts (illustrator). Sewn binding in paper-covered boards, in dustjacket. 159 p. Includes bibliographical references and transcriptions of the original German texts. A nice copy with tight binding, intact hinges and ***spine witha slight lean***. No marks. A little wear and creasing to spine-ends. Unclipped dustjacket very nice, with creasing on the back flap else hardly any wear. Seller Inventory # 2322
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Microscripts
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: FITZ BOOKS AND WAFFLES, Buffalo, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
This is a clean, unmarked copy with minimal wear. Seller Inventory # ABE-1771703152694
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The Microscripts
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
Seller: True Oak Books, Highland, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Translation. 159 pages; very minor shelf rubbing on DJ. Very Good condition otherwise. No other noteworthy defects. No markings. Unpriced, unclipped DJ. ; - Your satisfaction is our priority. We offer free returns and respond promptly to all inquiries. Your item will be carefully cushioned in bubble wrap and securely boxed. All orders ship on the same or next business day. Buy with confidence. Seller Inventory # HVD-76541-A-0
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The Microscripts
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Studio Books, Corvallis, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Translated from the German and with an Introduction by Susan Bernofsky. Green hardcover with titles in black and paper facsimile of microscripts laid down on front cover. Illustrated in color and black and white. Interior fine, some light wear to bottom corners of cover. In a fine dust jacket in a mylar protector. Seller Inventory # 091319
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The Microscripts
Published by
New Directions, NY, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Dorley House Books, Inc., Hagerstown, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st. 1st printing; afterword by Walter Benjamin; dj in mylar; pictorial boards that match dj; 160 clean, unmarked pages. Seller Inventory # 104775
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Microscripts
Published by
New Directions / Christine Burgin, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
New
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Nighttown Books, Powell, WY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hard Cover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. First Edition. Hardcover 1st Printing in dust jacket BRAND NEW still in publisher's shrinkwrap, no remainder mark, pristine unopened copy; 8vo; 159pp illus. Seller Inventory # 24379
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ROBERT WALSER: MICROSCRIPTS - Rare Pristine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing
Published by
New York City, NY: New Directions/Christine Burgin Gallery, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: ModernRare, CHICAGO, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 160 pages. Published in 2010. Facsimile of the author's handwritten works, presented as an Artist Book. One of the greatest books of our time. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. It marks the very first collaboration between New Directions and Christine Burgin Gallery New York to publish Walser's art-related works, which now include several, beautifully produced books. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Robert Walser's "Microscripts" in a felicitous English translation. Known and celebrated as such because he wrote down every single page in his extremely minute handwriting. "Robert Walser wrote many of his manuscripts in a highly enigmatic, shrunken-down form. Narrow strips of paper covered with tiny ant-like markings only a millimeter or two high came to light only after the author's death in 1956. At first considered a secret code, the microscripts were eventually discovered to be a radically miniaturized form of German script: A whole story could fit on the back of a business card. Selected from the six-volume German transcriptions of the original microscripts, these 25 short pieces are gathered in this gorgeously illustrated publication. Each microscript is reproduced in full color in its original form: The detached cover of a trashy crime novel, a disappointing letter, a receipt of payment. Walser used the pages of small tear-off calendars (but only after cutting them length-wise and filling up each half with text). Schnapps, rotten husbands, small-town life, the radio, pigs (and how none of us can deny being one), jealousy, Van Gogh, and marriage proposals are some of Walser's subjects" (Publisher's blurb). "The incredible shrinking writer is a major 20th-century prose artist who, for all that the modern world seems to have passed him by, fulfills the modern criterion: He sounds like nobody else" (The New Yorker Magazine). "One of the profoundest products of modern literature" (Walter Benjamin). An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Walser collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws while the few copies in fine condition command as much as $900. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ROBERT WALSER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 0811218805. Seller Inventory # 18205
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ROBERT WALSER: MICROSCRIPTS
Published by
New Directions/Christine Burgin Gallery, New York, NY, 2010
ISBN 10: 0811218805
ISBN 13: 9780811218801
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: BIAbooks, Woodstock, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. A pristine, collectible book by Robert Walse, translated by Susan Bernofsky. "The incredible shrinking writer is a major 20th-century prose artist who, for all that the modern world seems to have passed him by, fulfills the modern criterion: He sounds like nobody else" (The New Yorker Magazine) . "One of the profoundest products of modern literature" (Walter Benjamin) . An absolute "must-have" title for Robert Walser collectors. Robert Walser wrote many of his manuscripts in a highly enigmatic, shrunken-down form. These narrow strips of paper, covered with tiny ant-like pencil markings a millimeter high, came to light only after the author's death in 1956.At first considered random restless pencil markings or a secret code, the microscripts were in time discovered to be a radically miniaturized form of antique German script: a whole story was deciphered on the back of a business card. These twenty-five short pieces address schnapps, rotten husbands, small town life, elegant jaunts, the radio, swine, jealousy, and marriage proposals. Seller Inventory # 003791