Guarini, Battista; Correa, Isabel Rebeca
El pastor fido, po e ma de Baptista Guarino, traducido de italiano en metro español, y illustrado con reflexiones por Doña Isabel Correa, 1694. Amsterdam, Johannes van Ravesteyn.
The free adaptation of Pastor fido into Spanish by a Sephardic poetess of Spanish ascent
Extremely rare first edition of Sephardic Jewish poetess Isabel Correa’s Spanish adaptation of Guarini’s Pastor fido, a notable work of 17th century Sephardic literature and one of the few substantial literary publications associated with a Jewish woman of the Western Sephardic diaspora; written and published in the ancestral Spanish of her family, kept for centuries after their expulsion of Spain, and after their settling in Portugal. The edition was shared by two printing houses: Johannes van Ravesteyn’s in Amsterdam and Cornelis and Henricus Verdussen’s in Antwerp, this being the rarest one.
Extremely rare first edition of Sephardic Jewish poetess Isabel Correa’s Spanish adaptation of Guarini’s Pastor fido, a notable work of 17th century Sephardic literature and one of the few substantial literary publications associated with a Jewish woman of the Western Sephardic diaspora; written and published in the ancestral Spanish of her family, kept for centuries after their expulsion of Spain, and after their settling in Portugal. The edition was shared by two printing houses: Johannes van Ravesteyn’s in Amsterdam and Cornelis and Henricus Verdussen’s in Antwerp, this being the rarest one.
$ 8,000.00
Further images
8vo, (159 x 96 mm). 296 pp. (errata slip between pp. 16-17) // 295, [3] pp. Contemporary dark brown morocco with shelfwear and loss to spinehead, raised bands, gilt on spine label worn, joints starting. Early owners' ownership inscriptions on title, small holes slightly affecting text on pp. 149-150 and page number on pp. 219-220, occasional light dampstaining and foxing, overall excellent condition.
Correa, a Portuguese Sephardic Jew born in Lisbon and later active in Antwerp and Amsterdam, belonged to the literary circles of the Dutch-Portuguese Jewish community. In the dedication she states that her translation was intended to improve upon the earlier Spanish version by Cristóbal Suárez de Figueroa (1609) as well as the French translation of the Abbé Torche.
Her work extends beyond a mere translation. Throughout the text she inserted approximately 450 original verses-designated reflexiones and identified typographically by an asterisk and double parallel lines, 362 of which occur in the first act. The work is therefore both a translation and a substantial authorial reworking of Guarini’s work. Although Guarini’s pastoral masterpiece had previously been translated into Spanish by Cristóbal Suárez de Figueroa (1609), Correa presents her version as a new and substantially improved rendering. The result is a creative adaptation that transforms Guarini’s text into an original literary work in its own right.
The volume contains a prologue to the reader, a synopsisof the plot, a sonnet by Correa, and an errata leaf concluding with a short apologetic poem. The dedication to Manuel de Belmonte (Isaac Núñez), patron of Amsterdam's Sephardic literary academies, places the work within the intellectual milieu of the Portuguese-Jewish community of the Dutch Republic. Particularly noteworthy is Correa’s prologue, in which she defends the place of women in literary culture and situates her work within a tradition of female authors extending from antiquity to her contemporary María de Guadalupe Lancastre y Cárdenas, Duchess of Aveiro. The text is consequently of interest not only for the study of Sephardic literature and translation, but also for the history of women's authorship in the early modern period. Written and published in the Spanish maintained by Portuguese Sephardic communities after their departure from the Iberian Peninsula, the work provides important evidence for the persistence of Iberian literary culture within the Western Sephardic diaspora.
“Published in Amsterdam in 1694, Isabel Correa’s translation is part of the literary output of the Sephardic community in the city. As I have noted in another study, this work by Correa, produced towards the end of the century, was a significant attempt to raise the standard of Sephardic literature in Amsterdam, bringing it in line with contemporary Spanish literature and European literary trends. The translation was published in Amsterdam (and Antwerp) alongside other works by various Sephardic authors. These works were written in Spanish for religious purposes and for family celebrations. They largely lacked any wider reach, being intended for the local Sephardic community. The work’s elevated status compelled Isabel to justify herself to readers, and at the same time led her to adopt a combative stance regarding literature written by women. This is consistent with the nature of the prologue itself, which accommodates everything from the usual genre clichés to personal outpourings” (cf. F. López Estrada, Poética barroca. Edición y estudio de los preliminares de El Pastor Fido de Guarini, traducido por Isabel Correa (1694), in: “Hommage à Robert Jammes”, F. Cerdan, ed., Toulouse, 1994, II, p. 739).
Provenance: the title with ownership inscription of the Irish Jesuit priest Ignatius Roche (d. 1739) “Ex lib.s P. Ign. Roche Miss.s Hybernicae Soc: J: 1723”; a second ownership inscription below in a later hand “Resid Waterfords”.
Spanish and Portuguese printing in the Northern Netherlands (1584-1825), 839; Palau, 109456.
Correa, a Portuguese Sephardic Jew born in Lisbon and later active in Antwerp and Amsterdam, belonged to the literary circles of the Dutch-Portuguese Jewish community. In the dedication she states that her translation was intended to improve upon the earlier Spanish version by Cristóbal Suárez de Figueroa (1609) as well as the French translation of the Abbé Torche.
Her work extends beyond a mere translation. Throughout the text she inserted approximately 450 original verses-designated reflexiones and identified typographically by an asterisk and double parallel lines, 362 of which occur in the first act. The work is therefore both a translation and a substantial authorial reworking of Guarini’s work. Although Guarini’s pastoral masterpiece had previously been translated into Spanish by Cristóbal Suárez de Figueroa (1609), Correa presents her version as a new and substantially improved rendering. The result is a creative adaptation that transforms Guarini’s text into an original literary work in its own right.
The volume contains a prologue to the reader, a synopsisof the plot, a sonnet by Correa, and an errata leaf concluding with a short apologetic poem. The dedication to Manuel de Belmonte (Isaac Núñez), patron of Amsterdam's Sephardic literary academies, places the work within the intellectual milieu of the Portuguese-Jewish community of the Dutch Republic. Particularly noteworthy is Correa’s prologue, in which she defends the place of women in literary culture and situates her work within a tradition of female authors extending from antiquity to her contemporary María de Guadalupe Lancastre y Cárdenas, Duchess of Aveiro. The text is consequently of interest not only for the study of Sephardic literature and translation, but also for the history of women's authorship in the early modern period. Written and published in the Spanish maintained by Portuguese Sephardic communities after their departure from the Iberian Peninsula, the work provides important evidence for the persistence of Iberian literary culture within the Western Sephardic diaspora.
“Published in Amsterdam in 1694, Isabel Correa’s translation is part of the literary output of the Sephardic community in the city. As I have noted in another study, this work by Correa, produced towards the end of the century, was a significant attempt to raise the standard of Sephardic literature in Amsterdam, bringing it in line with contemporary Spanish literature and European literary trends. The translation was published in Amsterdam (and Antwerp) alongside other works by various Sephardic authors. These works were written in Spanish for religious purposes and for family celebrations. They largely lacked any wider reach, being intended for the local Sephardic community. The work’s elevated status compelled Isabel to justify herself to readers, and at the same time led her to adopt a combative stance regarding literature written by women. This is consistent with the nature of the prologue itself, which accommodates everything from the usual genre clichés to personal outpourings” (cf. F. López Estrada, Poética barroca. Edición y estudio de los preliminares de El Pastor Fido de Guarini, traducido por Isabel Correa (1694), in: “Hommage à Robert Jammes”, F. Cerdan, ed., Toulouse, 1994, II, p. 739).
Provenance: the title with ownership inscription of the Irish Jesuit priest Ignatius Roche (d. 1739) “Ex lib.s P. Ign. Roche Miss.s Hybernicae Soc: J: 1723”; a second ownership inscription below in a later hand “Resid Waterfords”.
Spanish and Portuguese printing in the Northern Netherlands (1584-1825), 839; Palau, 109456.
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