Die Goue Vreugde by Audrey Blignault

Die Goue Vreugde (Signed First Edition in Illustrated Dust Jacket)

A Signed First Edition of Audrey Blignault's Illustrated Afrikaans Anthology of Favourite Poetry and Prose

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Die Goue Vreugde: 'n Keur uit jare se leesgenot
• Author: Audrey Blignault
• Publisher: Human & Rousseau, Kaapstad en Pretoria
• Publication Date: 1985
• ISBN-10: 0798118458
• Edition Details: First Edition (Eerste uitgawe). Signed and dated by the author, 17 Junie 1985.
• Binding: Publisher's mustard-yellow cloth boards with a white starburst design to the front, in the original illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Large-format hardcover, quarto proportions. With full-page colour illustrations by Cora Coetzee.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The mustard-yellow cloth boards are clean and square, with a small white mark to the lower edge of the front board. The spine and corners are clean and sound.
• Interior: The pages are clean and bright, with no foxing in evidence. The binding is tight and the colour illustrations are well preserved. The front free endpaper carries the author's signature, and an owner's name and address appear on a further endpaper.
• Provenance: Signed and dated by the author, Audrey Blignault, 17 Junie 1985, on the front free endpaper, with a further handwritten name and date, 17/6/85, beneath the signature. A later owner's name and address in pen or pencil, dated 17/6/89, appears on another endpaper.
• The Dust Jacket: Present: an illustrated wheat-ear design on cream. The jacket shows honest wear: chipped and torn edges at the fore-edge of the front flap near the head, slight wear to the spine head, a small crease with peeling at the top corner, light edge rubbing, and a faint stain to the front panel near the title. Protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published in 1985 by Human & Rousseau of Cape Town and Pretoria, Die Goue Vreugde, subtitled 'n Keur uit jare se leesgenot (roughly, a selection from years of reading pleasure), is an Afrikaans anthology compiled by Audrey Blignault. It gathers her personal favourites from the world of words, poetry and prose alike, in a generous large-format volume.

The book is illustrated throughout with full-page colour drawings by Cora Coetzee, which give the anthology the feel of a keepsake as much as a reader. It reflects the tastes of a woman who spent a lifetime in Afrikaans letters and magazine journalism.

This copy is signed and dated by the author on the front free endpaper, which adds a direct personal link to a popular mid-1980s Afrikaans title and makes it of interest to collectors of signed Afrikaans literature.

Author Profile: Audrey Blignault

Audrey Blignault (1916–2008) was born in Bredasdorp and studied Afrikaans literature at Stellenbosch University, where she took an MA in Afrikaans and Dutch. She became editor of the women's magazine Die Huisvrou in 1945, presented radio programmes, and was a columnist for Sarie from 1950.

Her other books include Die plesierboom (1967), Die rooi granaat (1970), Die eindelose avontuur (1993), a guide to world literature, and Dit reën rose (1996).

Die Goue Vreugde Audrey Blignault · signed Audrey Blignault · Audrey Blignault eerste uitgawe · Afrikaans poetry and prose anthology · signed Afrikaans first edition · Human & Rousseau 1985 · Cora Coetzee illustrated Afrikaans book