Camões. Estudo historico-poetico: liberrimente fundado sobre um drama francez dos senhores Victor Perrot, e Armand du Mesnil.

Ponta Delgada, Tipographia da Rua das Artes, 68, 1849.. FIRST EDITION. 8°, contemporary quarter olive green morocco over marbled boards (wear at corners, edges of boards, head of spine; foot of spine slightly defective), romantic smooth spine gilt in romantic fashion, in three compartments, marbled endleaves. Two lithograph plates: portrait of Camões and Gruta de Camões in Macau, at beginning and end of volume, respectively. Small crude repair to blank portion of title page. Overall in good condition. Non-authorial presentation inscription dated June 15, 1851, on half title, from Carlos M.G. Machado to António Luiz Duarte. Small round printed light blue on dark blue ticket of Livraria Antiga e Moderna, Antiquaria de Caldas Cordeiro, Rua Nova do Almada, 16, Lisboa in upper outer corner of front pastedown endleaf. 300 [i.e. 298] pp., 2 plates, (1 blank. l.). *** FIRST EDITION. Innocêncio points out that the notes, which begin on p. 175 and continue to the end of the volume, treat important historical, scientific, literary and critical points. A second, augmented edition appeared in Lisbon, 1863; while a third edition appeared in 1906 as volumes XXIX to XXXII of Castilho's Obras completas.Castilho (1800-75), a native of Lisbon, became blind at the age of six but nevertheless went on to earn a degree in law from Coimbra. Aside from his vast literary production, he invented a new method for teaching children to read, the "methodo portuguez," and attempted to implement it while serving as Commissario Geral de Instrucção Primaria. Castilho ranks (with Almeida Garrett and Herculano) as one of the three best Romantic writers in Portugal, and Bell notes that "His quadras … and his blank verse are alike so easy and natural, his style so harmonious and pure that, despite the lack of observation and originality in these long poems, they have not even to-day lost their place in Portuguese literature." Castilho published numerous works of poetry and prose, founded and edited the Revista universal lisbonense (1841-45), and began the series "Livraria Classica Portuguesa," for which he wrote the studies of Bernardes and Garcia de Resende. He also translated works of Ovid, Molière, Anacreon and Goethe - his Faust translation is particularly well known for the controversy it raised among students of German language and literature ("a questão faustina"). Following Almeida Garrett's death and Herculano's retreat to Val-de-Lôbos, Castilho became the leading figure of the Romantic movement. His 1865 prologue to a work by Pinheiro Chagas, which condemned the young writers of Coimbra (Antero de Quental, Teofilo Braga, and Vieira de Castro) for "nebulosidade," incited Quental to write Bom senso e bom gôsto, thus sparking one of the greatest polemics in the history of Portuguese literature.*** Innocêncio I, 132 (calling for only 296 pp.): "A edição começa a tornar-se rara, e os exemplares são procurados."; see also VIII, 135; for more on the author see XX, 132-8 and XXII, 262-5. Pinto de Matos (1970) p. 158. Avila Perez 1486. José do Canto 2424. Porbase lists two copies, both in the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal (one is the Victor d'Avila Perez copy). Jisc repeats British Library.