SIENKIEWICZ Henryk - Krzyżacy. Vol. 1-4. Warsaw 1900. first edition of the novel

SIENKIEWICZ Henryk - Krzyżacy. A novel in four volumes. Jubilee edition. Vol. 1-4. Warsaw 1900. Nakł. Gebethner and Wolff. 16d, pp. [4], 338; [4], 268; [4], 339; [4], 357, [1]. Bound in period cloth with gilt on spines.
Peeling taped at spine in vols. 3 and 4, overall good condition. First edition of one of the most widely read novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Printed in episodes in "Tyg. Illustrowanym" from II 1897 to VII 1900, it was published in book form in the year of Sienkiewicz's 25th anniversary of his writing career (hence the "Jubilee Edition" on the title page). The novel was seen as a clear protest against the policy of Germanization carried out by the authorities in the lands of the Prussian partition. "Noteworthy [...] is the ingenious stylization of the language of 'Krzyżaki,' based not so much on medieval Polish, which was little known at the time the novel was written, but on the highland dialect of Zakopane" (LPPE). The popularity of the work is evidenced by the fact that "Krzyzacy" was one of the first books reissued in Poland after the end of World War II.