Station 18 in the Don Quixote Exhibit

Don Quixote Exhibit - Station 18


Vida y Hechos del Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. London, 1738.

From the collection of the George Peabody Library
Collection number: P863.32 D6 1738


Remarkable in some ways was the fact that Spanish language editions were also printed abroad in great numbers, pointing out that readers of Spanish--whether Spaniards living outside Spain or non-Spaniards who claimed expertise in the language--could consult "corrected" versions of the novel and/or engage in scholarly debates about Cervantes' language and culture. The most expensively produced Spanish version--the "Tonson Edition"--was published by Lord Carteret for Queen Caroline of England. Printed in London in 1738 with an extensive series of engravings by J. Vanderbank, sales of this edition were never expected to off-set production costs. Expenses were underwritten by the Countess Montijo, wife of the Spanish ambassador to the Court of St. James, in an effort to publicize Cervantes' text in the original. This edition also included for the first time an essay by "Dr. Juan Oldfield" explaining the allegorical significance of the various engravings.