Bengali and English-language signed book: Lekhan [Jottings]. Berlin, Germany. 1927. Hardcover with gilt titling to spine and front cover, 6 x 8.75. Signed in fountain pen on an opening page in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore; the same page bears Tagore's printed signature, and the adjacent page is inscribed by an unknown hand. Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG-/None, with slight rubbing to boards, bumped corners, and light edgewear.
This exceedingly rare and early publication of Lekhan was printed in the poet's own handwriting with special ink and the use of aluminum plates. The book contains 420 short verses of poetic composition, 150 of which have two versions, Bengali and English, one being translated from the other, with a total of 72 pieces not having any corresponding translation. Nevertheless, Lekhan retains a notable place in Tagore studies—it's the only work that he published in English and Bengali—and is also made quite notorious for the inclusion of five short poems by Bengali poet Priyambada Devi that Tagore inadvertently included in the text. When the book was first published in 1927, Tagore sent a facsimile ‘personal’ edition to Devi, who, upon reading it, noticed that a few verses were her own. She immediately wrote a letter to Tagore, gently informing him about his ‘mistake.' It is not known what Tagore’s reply to her was, but he acknowledged the error in an essay that was published in Probasi in November 1928.
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