DAILY LIFE IN HOLLAND IN THE YEAR 1566 AND THE STORY OF MY ANCESTOR'S TREASURE CHEST. de Poortvliet, Rien. Translated from the Dutch by Karin H. Ford - 1992

New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1992. 208 pp, oblong (10 1/4" H x 12 1/8" D). Beautifully illustrated in colour throughout. "Characteristically evocative, the words and images in 'Daily Life in Holland' are rich in detail and delicate in coloration, and perhaps the most beautiful of any of Poortvliet's works to date. In this fascinating saga, he recreates the lives of his forebears as they toiled and celebrated their way through daily existence. He does not conjure up a romantic vision of the past - the Dutch countryside was not all tulips and windmills! There were adversity and hard work, and we learn that 1566 was an extraordinary year in Holland, marked by famine and plague, great freezes, floods and droughts, comets and earthquakes, and an invasion by the Spanish as well. Poortvliet's colorful account unfolds before us to reveal how ordinary men, women, and children lived: what kinds of clothes they wore, what their houses were like, what they ate and how they cooked. How did they celebrate Christmas? What did the people do for a livng and what kind of money did they have? What did a girl's engagement ring look like? How many different kinds of swords and firearms did they have? Exploring his own roots, Poortvliet captures the beauty of everyday life and livelihood in turbulent sixteenth-century Holland." Tiny stain on top of text block, a few tiny dints on bottom edges of boards, previous owner's bookplate on half-title page. Dust jacket has very light edge wrinkling - mainly at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds, a few tiny dints on front panel, very light rubbing, very small bump on edge of spine.. Not Signed. First American Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good+/Very Good. Illus. by Rien Poortvliet. With calligraphy by Diane Lynch..