Carl Otto Hager by Ode Krige
Carl Otto Hager (Signed & Inscribed First Edition, First Printing)
The Afrikaans Biography of the German-Born Architect Behind the Cape's Neo-Gothic Dutch Reformed Churches
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Carl Otto Hager: argitek tot eer van God, 1813–1898
- Author: Ode Krige
- Publisher: Hemel & See Boeke, Hermanus
- Publication Date: 2015
- ISBN-13: 9780992221973
- Edition Details: First Edition (Eerste uitgawe), First Printing (eerste druk). Signed and inscribed by the author.
- Binding: Publisher's illustrated card wrappers, perfect bound, with a green spine lettered in gold and white.
- Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback format), portrait. Illustrated with photographs, sketches and drawings.
- Language: Afrikaans
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior / Wraps: The illustrated card wrappers are clean and bright. The dark green spine is straight and uncreased, with crisp gold and white lettering. Corners and edges are sharp, with no visible damage to the fore-edge or cover edges. The text block edges are slightly toned yellow.
- Interior: The title page, copyright page and dedication page are clean and free of marks other than the author's inscription and signature.
- Provenance: Handwritten dedication on the half-title page: "Aan my vriendin Lydia. Met liefde. Ode Krige." Signed by the author, Ode Krige. A smaller signature also appears beneath the author's name on the title page.
- The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)
Synopsis & Historical Value
Carl Otto Hager: argitek tot eer van God, 1813–1898, by Ode Krige, was published in Hermanus in 2015 by Hemel & See Boeke. It is a biography of the German-born architect, portrait painter and early photographer who came to the Cape in 1838 and settled in Stellenbosch.
Hager is remembered chiefly for his Dutch Reformed Church buildings. Architectural scholarship regards him as the foremost promoter of neo-Gothic architecture in South Africa. Krige draws on his memoirs, presented here in Afrikaans for the first time, and portrays a devout man, artist and pioneer. Photographs, sketches and drawings accompany the text.
The book is a useful reference for the study of Cape church architecture and Afrikaner religious heritage, and has been cited in later church-history scholarship on the Stellenbosch Moederkerk. This copy carries a personal dedication from the author.
Author Profile: Ode Krige
Ode Krige was a Stellenbosch-based Afrikaans writer who died on 29 September 2021. She won the 2013 best-poem prize of the Bloemfontein Skrywersvereniging and was recognised for her role in organising the Woordfees at Stellenbosch University.
Carl Otto Hager biography · signed Ode Krige · Afrikaans architecture book · Stellenbosch neo-Gothic churches · Dutch Reformed Church architect · Hager argitek tot eer van God · signed first edition Afrikaans
