Dreams

Olive Schreiner

Scarce "Author's edition". Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1891. Hardcover, small 8vo (18cm x 12cm), 182pp (+9 of ads). Green decorated cloth and gilt lettering to cover and spine. Rubbing and fraying on spine ends, corners bumped and rubbed. Spine cocked. Text block is coming away on top, but the binding holds together well enough, if a little bit delicate. Scarce, and only copy with the green cloth variant available. A collection of dreamy and allegorical tales by Olive Schreiner, exploring through South African landscapes, rich with symbols, the idea and possibility of women's, and mostly, her own freedom and liberation. The dedication makes Schreiner's positioning quite clear: "To a small girl-child, who may live to grasp somewhat of that which for us is yet sight, not touch".