Het Achterhuis [The Secret Annex; Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl]

Amsterdam: Contact, 1947. First Edition. Original boards, original dust jacket. Very Good/Very Good. RARE FIRST EDITION; AN OUTSTANDING COPY IN THE EXCEEDINGLY RARE FIRST ISSUE DUST JACKET. One of only 1500 copies printed of one of the central works of the twentieth century. Complete with three photographic plates, including the frontispiece portrait of Anne Frank.

"The diary written by Anne Frank is probably the single most widely read book to come out of the Holocaust (Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, 1952; first published as Het Achterhuis, 1947). Millions of readers have read the story of the teenage girl's two years in hiding. It has been translated into more than thirty-five languages and published in as many countries. Her diary was also the foundation for a successful drama performed worldwide (The Diary of Anne Frank, 1956) and a film of the same title (1959). Especially in the last twenty years, many schoolchildren and adults alike have had their first exposure to the effects of Adolf Hitler's war through Anne's writing. Anne's diary so captured the attention of the world that her name has become symbolic of the six million Jewish victims of the Shoah...

"To many, Anne Frank has become a symbol of the strength and optimism of the human spirit in the midst of tragedy. In July 1944 Anne wrote what was to become the most famous line of her diary and the one most often used to symbolize her spirit. 'In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart'... Anne's writing put a human face to the unfathomable statistics of the millions of individuals who suffered and died" (Sarita Cargas, Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature).

In the correct first issue dust jacket with "Anne Frank" in yellow on front panel.

Amsterdam: Contact, 1947. Octavo, original paper boards, original dust jacket; custom silk box. In the original Dutch. The book - not particularly well-made - is usually found in various states of disrepair. This copy is in remarkably fine condition for this book - fresh, with secure tight hinges. Toning to spine (as always); text very clean with some mild toning to endpapers. Dust jacket with a few scratches to front panel, small chips at extremities, one chip and some rubbing to spine.

SCARCE: There are only a handful of copies we are aware of in the original first issue jacket that have been on the market and this is without a doubt the finest copy we've seen.