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In German. The second volume only, of four. This very well may be the first edition, 1801 is on the title page and the copyright page is blank. I don't know what points identify the book as a first edition. The first volume of the four was published in 1800. The volumes were completed in 1803. These may be the original covers, or not. You can judge for yourself by viewing the three photos. They will also give you an idea of the condition, which I consider to be quite decent taking into account the centuries that have passed since it was published. There is a tiny bit of loss at the top edge of the spine. There is rub-through at the two front corners, little to none at the two rear corners. There are a couple of small dents at the middle edges, one at the front top edge. The edges have light rubbing. The book is square and the spine is straight. The binding is quite solid from cover to cover, and the covers are tight. There appears to be a very thin strip of binding material at the juncture between pages 16 and 17. Seeing that, I turned over all the pages. I found only one other instance of this, between pages 192 and 193, the thin strip only visible over the top half of the juncture, the bottom half of it presumably tuck-in between the pages. They did a good job in both instances. Turning over all the pages made it all the more clear to me that the book is quite solidly bound, and the pages are not fragile. The inside covers and end papers are a very light green. They each have tan shadows at their four corners and to the right and left of the junctures. I would judge the pages to be in generally quite good condition. I don't think there's any foxing, not the obvious kind anyway. There are instances of soiling, a few were quite conspicuous. There are also water stains that come and go off both of the top and bottom edges. I flattened out perhaps five tips of bottom corners, so there are now tiny creases there. I saw only a couple of other creases. All in all, creasing is not an issue. There are no markings in the book. There are no attachments. And no one has written their name or anything else anywhere. 'Titan is a novel by the German writer Jean Paul, published in four volumes between 1800 and 1803. It was translated into English by Charles Timothy Brooks in 1862. Jean Paul called Titan his "cardinal and capital" novel. Divided not into chapters but into "jubilees" and "cycles", it comprises some 900 pages and tells the story of the education of the hero Albano de Cesara, his transformation from a passionate youth into the mature man who ascends the throne of the small principality of Pestitz. In language and style the novel differs strikingly from other texts of Jean Paul. The narrative, despite its sentimental and effusive manner, and rich descriptions, is tightly organized and contains fewer digressions and side notes. This is often seen as a temporary approach to the classicism of Weimar, which Jean Paul at this time was subjecting to an intensive and critical examination. The rich imagery and comic misdirections are still present, and the novel remains challenging for today's readers. Gustav Mahler composed a "tone poem" titled after this novel, although in the process of revising the work he dropped the name and the 2nd movement, and the work was transformed into Mahler's First Symphony, with the composer afterwards discouraging any attempt to seek connections. Erich Heckel was inspired by the figure of Roquairol while painting a portrait of his friend Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.'. Seller Inventory # 004036
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