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[Goethekreis] - Matthesius, Jakob, Jurist und Lieddichter (1752-1814).
Eigenh. Brief mit U. Eisenach, 4. XI. 1795.
2 SS. auf Doppelblatt. 8vo. An einen ungenannten, wohl schwedischen Schriftsteller, der sich im Weimarer Kreis um Wieland und Herder bewegte und sich mit Plänen einer Wieland-Übersetzung in seine Muttersprache trug: "Das Vergnügen, Sie zu kennen, wird nur erhöht durch den Gedanken: Sie glücklich zu wissen. Für die gütige Zuschrift, die mur hievon die angenehme Versicherung giebt, empfangen Sie, Herr Chevalier, meinen verbindlichsten Dank! Die Liebe, Einiger der ersten Männer Deutschlands; der Beifall aller Edlen und Trefflichen, unter welchen Sie leben, ist ein Beweis Ihres Werthes, den Niemand, dessen Auge sich auf gute Menschen versteht, verkennen wird: 'Ein edler Mensch zieht edle Menschen an / Und weiß sie fest zu halten' - v. Goethe, Torq. Tasso. Ihr Geist labt sich nun am Quell des Guten und des Schönen und horcht den Sängern Terpsichorens und Oberons, bey deren Tönen Deutschlands Genius Entzücken jubelt. Sie haben das wichtige Vorhaben ihn in Ihrem Vaterlande einzuführen; wofür es hoffentlich nicht unerkenntlich seyn wird. Frau von B. ist Ihnen näher, als Sie ahnden; sie hält sich in der Gegend von Erfurt auf. Als Kennerin des feinen Geschmack's wird sie, die personificirte Güte, Ihre Aufmerksamkeit so aufnehmen wie Sie es wünschen. Sie kennen meine Ergebenheit für die Herren Bötticher und Bertuch; haben Sie die Gewogenheit ihnen diese Versicherung in meinem Nahmen zu wiederhohlen. Die Meinigen, die Sie ihrer herzlichen Theilnahme versichern, bitten um Ihr Andenken und die gebohrne Eisenacherinn meynt noch immer, daß der nationalisirte Schwede mit seiner Mundart der deutschen Sprache nicht das unerheblichste Compliment mache [...]". - Der Beamte und Schriftsteller Matthesius war ab 1802 Regierungsrat in Eisenach.
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[Goethekreis] - Matthesius, Jakob, Jurist und Lieddichter (1752-1814).
Eigenh. Brief mit U. Eisenach, 29. VI. 1796.
3 SS. auf Doppelblatt. 8vo. An einen ungenannten Schriftsteller, der sich im Weimarer Kreis um Wieland und Herder bewegte und sich mit Plänen einer Wieland-Übersetzung in seine Muttersprache trug: "Man findet leicht eine Entschuldigung für seinen Freund und ich kann es wohl gestehen, daß Ihr Stillschweigen mich nicht sowohl für mich, als für die Erfüllung Ihrer Wünsche besorgt gemacht hat. Um so erfreulicher war mir Ihre Zuschrift, mein geliebter Freund, die mich von der zweifachen Bekümmerniß heilte. Zweifeln Sie nicht an dem guten Erfolg Ihrer Arbeiten; denn man kennt, wie ich neulich gefunden habe, unsres Wielands Nahmen in Ihrem Vaterlande; Sie werden sich das Verdienst erwerben, ihn genauer mit Ihrer Nation bekannt zu machen. Ihre gütige Einladung nach Weimar hat in Rücksicht der trefflichen Männer, die es enthält, allen Reitz für mich; doch sind einige derselben eine Frucht, die für mich zu hoch hängt. Die süsseste indeß gewährt Freunschaft und Wohlwollen, deren Genuß mir das verbotne entbehrlich machen würde. Hätten Sie nur den schönen Entschluß ausführen können uns zu besuchen! - So willkommen Sie uns zu jeder Stunde sind, so wünschte ich dennoch, daß Sie eine freundliche Jahreszeit wählten: die Natur würde Ihnen doch hier manches Blümchen der Freude zuwerfen, das Sie dort nicht finden. Es ist mir lieb, daß Frau v. B. auch Sie von dem Irrthum befreit hat, als ob ich Eisenach verlassen hätte. Was zu diesem Gespräch Veranlassung gegeben hat, kann ich wohl muthmassen; doch glaube ich noch mehr, daß der Urheber und Verbreiter desselben eine böse Absicht darunter versteckt hielt. Unser gemeinschaftliche Freund [Christoph] Girtanner muß mit Arbeiten überhäuft seyn, denn es ist eine Seltenheit einen Brief von seiner Hand zu empfangen. Vor einem Vierteljahr ohngefehr ist er sehr krank gewesen, welche Ursach ihn damals zu schreiben abgehalten hat; ich fürchte doch nicht, daß ein Recidiv die wiederhohlte Ursach seyn sollte? Meine Frau und die Meinigen, die sich Ihrem fernern Andenken empfehlen, befinden sich wohl, und seyn Sie versichert, daß Ihr freundschaftlicher Besuch und Ihre Bekanntschaft uns viele angenehme Erinnerungen zurück gelassen haben [...]". - Der Beamte und Schriftsteller Matthesius war ab 1802 Regierungsrat in Eisenach.
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Constant, Benjamin, Swiss-French political theorist, author, and statesman (1767-1830).
Autograph letter signed. Paris, 8. XII. 1826.
8vo. ½ p. on bifolium. With autograph address. To Augustine Émilie Victorine Destutt de Tracy, Madame de Laubespin, the youngest daughter of Antoine Destutt de Tracy and sister-in-law of Georges Washington de La Fayette, asking her about the specifics of the "sad ceremony that I desire to attend" and whether he will there meet La Fayette or where he might otherwise find him: "Oserais-je vous prier, Madame, de me faire savoir si la triste cérémonie à laquelle je désire assister aura lieu demain & à quelle heures, & si je trouverai Monsieur Georges La Fayette, où dans quel lieu je pourrais le rencontrer". - A classical liberal of the early 19th century, Constant defined the concept of liberty as a condition of existence that allowed the individual to turn away interference from the state or society. His ideas influenced the Trienio Liberal movement in Spain, the Liberal Revolution of 1820 in Portugal, the Greek War of Independence, the November uprising in Poland, the Belgian Revolution, and liberalism in Brazil and Mexico. - Traces of folds. Some browning. With a tear to the address leaf.
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Schiller, Friedrich, German poet (1759-1805).
Autograph letter signed. Dresden, 23 Dec. 1785.
8vo. 2 pp. on bifolium. In German. Mounted on the flyleaf of: The same. Don Karlos Infant von Spanien. Leipzig, Georg Joachim Göschen, 1802. 8vo. 432 pp. With engraved frontispiece and 5 engraved plates. Contemporary marbled full calf, gilt. Marbled endpapers. A fine and early letter to his publisher Georg Joachim Göschen, discussing matters of censorship: "I have fulfilled the wish of your and my Censor, dear friend, and send you the note you asked for. This, I hope, will silence the intolerant part of the public. Have the goodness to assure the Herr Censor (whose name pray give me in your next letter) that I consider myself fortunate in knowing my Thalia is in such discriminating hands. He has quickly grasped the point from which my two poems must be viewed; and how few will do that! I have received what I asked you for, and I see in your ready response a fresh confirmation of your friendship and brotherly sympathy. Farewell, dear friend, and continue to love me […]". - Schiller had anticipated that two poems intended for his journal "Thalia", namely "Freigeisterei der Leidenschaft" ("Passion's Free Thought") and "Resignation", might encounter difficulties with the censor. Saxon censorship was notoriously strict, and a performance of "Die Räuber" had been banned in Leipzig. In this case however, the censor in question, the Leipzig historian Friedrich August Wilhelm Wenck (1741-1810), "proved amenable and reasonable. It was contended that the tendency of the poems might be represented to be an apology for immorality if read by the ignorant and intolerant, and the Censor asked Goschen to procure an explanation from the author showing the baselessness of such a charge. Schiller at once complied with the request" (V. Goschen, pp. 122f.). - From the collection of the Copenhagen critic and theatre director Einar Christiansen (1861-1939) with his bookplate to the front pastedown. Schillers Briefe, ed. Fritz Jonas. Vol. 1 (Stuttgart 1892), p. 276, no. 148. Viscount Goschen, The Life and Times of Georg Joachim Goschen (London, 1903) I, p. 123. Trömel 169.
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Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, philosopher and mathematician (1646-1716).
Autograph letter signed ("Leibniz"). Hannover, 6. V. 1710.
8vo (157 x 95 mm). 4 pp. on a bifolium. In French. A characteristically witty and wide-ranging letter to the Scottish lawyer Thomas Burnett (1656-1729), confirming that Burnett's letters have been read to the Electress by her secretary M. Gargan and gossiping about the impeachment of Henry Sacheverell ("Dr Sacheverel is said to be a well-made man, whose person appeals to women - and so he has already half of Great Britain on his side"). Leibniz is amazed that England has time for such things "while she has the burden of such an onerous war on her hands", but trusts that the Queen, "who has already worked miracles in subduing France and uniting the Kingdoms, will surely achieve at last the fulfilment of her hopes in reconciling their hearts"; he includes an epigram of his: "Henrico junxisse rosas et regna Jacobo / Fas fuit: una animos Anna Perenna ligat" ("Henry did well to unite the Roses; James / the Kingdoms; Ageless Anna alone unites the hearts"). Leibniz is vexed that "Whiston declares himself a Socinian, and wishes to exercise his mathematics on the mystery of the Trinity. The Socinians have or had pulpits in Transylvania, but it is assuredly right to take a stand against the libertine and atheist literature which is more dangerous than the Socinians." Further, he regrets that the Irish theologian Henry Dodwell has gone mad ("one could learn from his excellent wisdom if he was in a condition or the mood to concentrate on it still") and reports that the Leipzig theologian Thomas Ittig is dead and has left a fine library to the university. Leibniz hopes that Queen Anne's Act for the Encouragement of Letters has been passed: "if not, I hope it will be successful another time - I wish something could be done for the Royal Society of London. That of Berlin is to publish some Miscellanea as an experiment". - This letter forms part of the significant, 18-year-long correspondence between Leibniz and Thomas Burnett of Kemnay in Aberdeenshire, occasioned by their meeting at the court of Hanover in 1695. The most recent Akademie edition of Leibniz's correspondence includes some 29 letters from Leibniz to Burnett and 51 from Burnett to Leibniz written during the period 1695-1707, with more still to be published. Burnett kept Leibniz abreast of English matters: here, the great scholar is well aware of the impeachment of Henry Sacheverell, a high church Tory Anglican who had preached anti-Whig sermons. Riots had broken out in London after Anne tried to punish Sacheverell for questioning the Glorious Revolution, but she eventually prevailed, much to the approval of Leibniz, who demonstrates throughout his admiration for the Queen. - Prompted by the writings of his fellow mathematician William Whiston (1667-1752), Leibniz speaks of the Socinians, an anti-trinitarian movement professing belief in God and the Scriptures but denying the divinity of Christ and therefore the Trinity (though by the 18th century, the name was a catch-all term for any kind of dissenting belief). Whiston was a leading figure in popularising the ideas of Newton and had embraced the tenets of anti-trinitarian theology, publishing his heretical work, "Sermons and Essays", in 1709. Locke himself had come to be identified as a member of the Socinian party with the publication of his "Reasonableness of Christianity", published anonymously in 1695, and was thence drawn into his well-known controversy with Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester. Leibniz may have refrained from discussing this particular issue with Burnett, fearing that any critical opinion of Locke expressed to Burnett might get back to Locke himself and thus jeopardise any chance of entering into future dialogue. - Some light dust-staining at folds. Provenance: Thomas Burnett, 2nd Laird of Kemnay (1656-1729), and thence by descent. Published in part in C. J. Gerhardt, Die philosophischen Schriften von G. W. Leibniz, vol. 3 (1887), p. 319, no. XXXVII. Not yet available in G. W. Leibniz, Allgemeiner politischer und historischer Briefwechsel (Berlin, Akademie Verlag).
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Liszt, Franz von, legal scholar (1851-1919).
Autograph letter signed. Halle (Saale), 22 June 1890.
8vo. 2 pp. on a bifolium. A fine letter of condolence to an unidentified colleague who had lost his wife: "Ein tief schmerzlicher Verlust hat Sie neuerdings betroffen und wird die alten Wunden wieder bluten machen. In herzlicher Teilnahme gedenke ich Ihrer und in Verehrung werde ich auch stets der Heimgegangenen gedenken, die Ihnen und Ihren Kindern so treu zur Seite gestanden hat. Möge das Gedeihen der Kinder, besonders der heranwachsenden Ältesten Ihnen fortan das Leben im Hause ungetrübt freundlich gestalten; Arbeit und freundschaftlicher Verkehr Ihnen reiche Anregung und Befriedigung bringen. Lücken, die der Tod ins engste Dasein gerissen, können nicht ausgefüllt, aber sie können minder fühlbar gemacht werden". - Liszt was a pioneer of German criminal law. The composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt was his elder cousin. - Well preserved.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
2 eigenh. Notizen mit U. auf zwei hs. Bittschreiben. ("A. C."). Wien, o. J. und 1862.
(1½+1½ =) 3 SS. auf 2 Doppelbll. Folio. Mit hs. Adresse (Faltbrief). Bewilligung über 10 fl. für einen Priester namens Johann Theodorovitz, der mehrere Monate auf eine Resolution warten musste und nun um eine Unterstützung bittet, um in seine Heimat zurückkehren zu können: "Zehn Gulden Ö. W. / A. C.". - Bewilligung über 12 fl. für einen ungarischen Arzt und Chirurgen namens Mikály Nagy, dessen Bittgesuch in ungarischer Sprache abgefasst ist: "Zwölf Gulden Con. Münze / A. C.". - Beide Dokumente mit Aktenvermerken und eh. Quittungen mit U. der Bittsteller verso. Stellenweise leichte Randläsuren, leicht angestaubt und mit je einem kleinen Tintenfleck. Das deutsche Bittgesuch zusätzlich mit zwei "Revidi"-Vermerken in roter Tinte.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Eigenh. Dokument mit U. Wien, 29. IV. 1857.
1 S. auf Doppelblatt. Qu.-8vo. Anweisung über 2000 fl.: "Anweisung / Ueber Zweitausend Gulden Con. Münze welche ich aus meiner Central-Kasse erhoben habe. / August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit Aktenvermerk und einem kleinen Randeinriss im Gegenblatt, leicht gebräunt.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Eigenh. Genehmigung mit U. auf hs. Bittschreiben. Wien, 27. II. 1857.
Ca. 2 SS. (4 Halbseiten) auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Genehmigung von 20 fl. als "Gnadengeschenk" für einen Karl Adler, Vater von drei Kindern und Zimmermaler in Diensten des herzoglichen Hauses: "Dem Bittsteller bewillige ich ein Gnadengeschenk von Zwanzig Gulden Conv. Münze aus meiner Central-Kasse. August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit Aktenvermerk, Adressvermerk zum Bittsteller, Zusatz und Gegenzeichnung eines Rates. Teilweise etwas angestaubt, stellenweise mit leichten Abriebspuren.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument "Ausweis" mit eh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 25. III. 1857.
1½ SS. Folio. Tabellarische Kostenaufstellung über Auslagen von 66 fl. und 4 kr. im Monat Februar 1857 für die "innere Ausschmückung des herzoglichen Palais" mit Verrechnungsposten wie Wagenspesen und Korrespondenzen (z. B. mit dem Ornament-Architekturzeichner bezüglich Skizzenpapier und Bleistifte) von der Hand des Zahlmeisters und Herzoglich Coburgischen Architekten Franz Neumann d. Ä. (1815-88), welche der Herzog genehmigt: "Wird passiert / August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Der Bau des Palais Coburg, wegen der Säulen im Mittelrisalit im Wiener Volksmund "Spargelburg" genannt, begann zwischen 1843 und 1847 nach einem Entwurf von Karl Schleps für Herzog Ferdinand und wurde unter Herzog August vollendet. Neumann trat 1839 als Bauadjunkt von Schleps in die Dienste der Familie Coburg. Nachdem Schleps im Folgejahr starb, arbeitete Neumann neben anderen Baumeistern weiter am Palais, bis er 1847 als der neue Herzoglich Coburgsche Architekt mit Umbauten und vor allem mit dem Innenausbau des Palais betraut wurde. August und seine Frau Clementine d’Orléans bezogen das Palais 1849, adaptierten einen Teil davon als Zinshaus für die Vermietung und statteten die Prunkräume des ersten Obergeschosses mit den Insignien des französischen Königshauses sowie des Hauses Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha aus. Die Fertigstellung erfolgte 1864. - Mit der weiteren eh. U. des Zahlmeisters Neumann. Ein längerer Randeinriss entlang der Faltlinie und stellenweise leicht lädiert an den Rändern.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument "Comput" mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 10. VII. 1866.
2 SS. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Betreffend eine Forderung des Rats Adam Seitz in Höhe von 352 fl. und 16 kr. aus der Herzoglichen Zentralkasse, mit unterschriebenem Sichtungsvermerk des Prinzen: "Vidi / August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha". - Das Dokument stammt aus der Hand des Coburgischen Rechnungsrats in Wien, Paul von Torkos. Für die Hochzeit von Prinz Augusts Sohn, Ludwig August, erhält Seitz einen Bonus, für die Vollendung der Erziehung der beiden Söhne Ludwig und Philipp eine Pension. - Mit den weiteren eh. Unterschriften des Adam Seitz und des Paul von Torkos. Zwei kl. Papierdurchbrüche und Spuren alter Faltung, verso stellenweise etwas angestaubt.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 31. XII. 1857.
3 SS. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Tabellarische Auflistung "Specification der ämtlichen Reiseauslagen des gehorsamst Gefertigten, für das IV.te Vierteljahr, vom 1. October bis Ende December 1857" in Höhe von 99 fl. und 30 kr. von der Hand des Herzoglich-Coburgischen Rechnungsrats zu Wien Paul von Torkos, die der Herzog abzeichnet: "Wird passiert / August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit der zweifachen eh. U. des Paul von Torkos und Aktenvermerk verso. Stellenweise leicht gelbfleckig, leicht angestaubt entlang der Faltlinien verso.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 15. I. 1863.
4 SS. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Tabellarische Auflistung "Specification der ämtlichen Reiseauslagen des gehorsamst Gefertigten vom 1. Jänner bis Ende December 1862" in der Höhe von 156 fl. und 48 kr. von der Hand des Herzoglich-Coburgischen Rechnungsrats zu Wien Paul von Torkos, die der Herzog abzeichnet: "Wird passiert August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit der zweifachen eh. U. des Paul von Torkos und Unterstreichungen in roter Tinte. Leicht gebräunt, mit Lochspur alter Heftung entlang des Falzes. Sehr gut erhalten.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Baden, 11. VII. 1857.
Ca. 3½ SS. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Tabellarische Auflistung "Specification der ämtlichen Reiseauslagen des gehorsamst Gefertigten für das II.te Vierteljahr, vom 1. April bis Ende Juni 1857" in Höhe von 119 fl. und 30 kr. von der Hand des Herzoglich-Coburgischen Rechnungsrats zu Wien, Paul von Torkos, die der Herzog abzeichnet: "Wird passiert / August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit der zweifachen eh. U. des Paul von Torkos. Aktenvermerk, leicht gebräunt, stellenweise leicht gelbfleckig, an den Rändern stellenweise leicht gebräunt, leicht angestaubt und mit winzigen Randläsuren.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Ebenthal, 27. X. 1857.
Ca. 5 SS. auf 2 Doppelbll. Folio. Weitere zwei Seiten mit leeren Tabellen. Mit feiner Seidenkordel geheftet. Tabellarische Auflistung "Specification der ämtlichen Reiseauslagen des gehorsamst Gefertigten für das III.te Vierteljahr, vom 1. Juli bis Ende September 1857" in Höhe von 119 fl. und 30 kr. von der Hand des Herzoglich-Coburgischen Rechnungsrats zu Wien, Paul von Torkos, die der Herzog abzeichnet: "Wird passiert / August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit Aktenvermerk. Leicht gebräunt, stellenweise leicht gelbfleckig, an den Rändern stellenweise leicht gebräunt, leicht angestaubt und mit winzigen Randläsuren.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Dokument mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 8. II. 1863.
3 SS. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Sichtungsvermerk der in der tabellarischen Auflistung angezeigten 789 fl und 48 kr. betreffend die "Reiseauslagen und Honorare der gerichtlichen Schätzungs-Commission des k. k. Oberst Hofmarschall-Amtes, der gräflich Koháryschen F. C. Güter in Ungarn 1862" aus der Hand des Rechnungsrats zu Wien, Paul von Torkos: "Vidi August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha [...]". - Mit zweifacher Unterschrift des Paul von Torkos und Aktenvermerk verso; "Revidi"-Vermerk verso und Unterstreichungen in roter Tinte. Verso leicht tintenfleckig.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Quittung mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 6. VIII. 1866.
1 S. Qu.-8vo. Sichtungsvermerk einer Kassenbehebung von 525 fl.: "Vidi August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha". - Die Quittung stammt aus der Hand Franz Zawrzils, Wirtschaftsrats in Wien: "Zu einem von Sr. königl. Hoheit bestimmten Zweck sind Fünfhundert fünf und zwanzig Gulden Ö. W. aus der herzogl. Cent. Kassa behoben worden [...]". - Mit der eh. U. Zawrzils und Aktenvermerk verso.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Quittung mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Wien, 21. XII. 1866.
1 S. Qu.-8vo. Sichtungsvermerk einer Kassenbehebung von 337 fl.: "Vidi August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha". - Die Quittung stammt aus der Hand Franz Zawrzils, Wirtschaftsrats in Wien: "Zu einem von Sr. k. Hoheit bestimmten Zweck sind Dreihundert und dreißig sieben Gulden Ö. W. aus der herzogl. Cent. Kassa behoben worden [...]". - Mit der eh. U. Zawrzils und Aktenvermerk verso.
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August, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Koháry (1818-1881).
Hs. Quittung mit eigenh. Zusatz und U. Coburg, 30. XII. 1862.
1 S. Qu.-8vo. Sichtungsvermerk einer Quittung über 75 fl.: "Vidi August Prinz von Sachsen Coburg Gotha". - Die Quittung stammt aus der Hand Carl Hittigs: "Durch die Gnade Sr. Königlichen Hoheit des Herrn Herzogs August zu Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, 75 fl. ÖW in Gnaden verliehene Unterstützung für die Monate October November u. December aus der Herzoglichen Central-Kasse in Wien richtig erhalten zu haben, bescheinigt mit unterthänigstem Danke [...]". - Mit der eh. U. Hittigs, Aktenvermerk und "Revidi"-Vermerk in roter Tinte verso.
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Geary, John White, Gouverneur von Pennsylvania (1819-1873).
Gedr. Beglaubigung mit hs. Eintragungen und eigenh. U. als Teil einer legitimierten Vollmacht. Harrisburg und Philadelphia, 1871.
3½ SS. auf 4 Bll. Folio. Zusammen drei Dokumente, mit durch Ösen gezogenen Bändern verbunden, mit gepr. Papiersiegel und einem großem mit Goldpapier gedeckten Siegel des Staates Pennsylvania, dieses beidseitig geprägt. Die Vollmacht in deutscher Sprache, die Beglaubigungen meist in englischer Sprache. Ausgestellt im Staat Pennsylvania, betreffend eine Vollmacht wegen rechtlicher Vertretung eines Charles H. Graham und seiner Erben durch den Juristen Wilhelm Obermayer von Rechtsinn (1816-1902). - "In the name and by the authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, John W. Geary, Governor of the said Commonwealth, To all to Whom these Presents shall Come, sends Greeting: Know Ye, That the Attestation of Certificate hereunto attached is in due form and made by the proper Officer, and that John F. Young, whose name is subscribed thereto, was at the time of subscribing the same, and now is a Notary Public in the County of Philadelphia [...]". - Die Beglaubigung mit der weiteren U. des "Secretary of Commonwealth" Francis Jordan (1820-1900). - Auf S. 1 die gedr. Vollmacht mit hs. Eintragungen und eh. U. Grahams sowie eh. Zusatz mit U. und gepr. Papiersiegel (dieses auf der Verso-Seite montiert) des Notars John F. Young: "Vollmacht. / Dank welcher Herr Wilhelm Obermayer, Doctor der Rechte, Hof- und Gerichts-Advokat in Wien ermächtigt wird, Cha[rle]s H. Graham und seine Erben in allen Rechtsangelegenheiten gerichtlich u. außergerichtlich zu vertreten [...]". - Die weitere Beglaubigung aus Washington mit gedr. Dokumentenkopf "United States of America Department of State [...]" mit gedr. Wappenadler und mit der eh. U. des Staatssekretärs William F. Hunter (1808-74), auf der Verso-Seite mit einer eh. Beglaubigung mit U. und Siegelrest des k. k. Botschafters in New York, Carl Frh. von Lederer (1817-90): "Gratis. / Zur Beglaubigung der vorstehenden Unterschrift und des Siegels des Staats-Departements der Ver. St. [...]". - Mit einem langen Quereinriss im ersten Blatt, wenigen kleinen bis mittleren Randausrissen und geringfügigen Randläsuren. Stellenweise an den Rändern leicht gebräunt.
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[Stetteldorf am Wagram].
4 hs. vermögensrechtliche Dokumente: "Ausweis", "Partikular-Tabular-Extract", "Cession" und "Extract. Neuer Theillibells Entwurf". Wien und Graz, 1801-1843.
Zusammen 11¼ SS. auf 5 Doppelbll. Folio. Der "Partikular-Tabular-Extract" mit papierged. Siegel und Wertstempel, der "Ausweis" mit feiner Seidenkordel gebunden, mit rotem papierged. Siegel und Wertstempeln. Die "Cession" mit drei schönen Lacksiegeln, einem papierged. Siegel, zwei Prägesiegeln und einem Stempel. Der "Extract" mit papierged. Siegel und Stempel. Ein "Partikular-Tabular-Extract" (1801) aus einem "Vermög Haupt-Schuldenbuch" mit Nennung "inhibierter" Posten von insgesamt 6000 fl. für Niclas Enderes und Georg Heinrich von Schicks sowie die Legitimation derselben für Christoph von Enderes, signiert von dem böhmischen Rechnungsrat Franz Berl. Dazu ein "Ausweis" in alter Abschrift (1843) mit eh. U. von einem Registratursdirektor namens Anton Allgeyer zu Erträgen aus dem Jahre 1825, beide Dokumente die Herrschaft Stetteldorf ("Stödeldorff") am Wagram betreffend: "Ausweis / Uiber das reine Erträgniß der durch vormahlichen Fideikommiß-Besitzer der Herrschaft Stetteldorf Herrn Ferdinand Grafen von Hardegg etc. etc. verkauften herrschaftlichen Grundstücke während des Dominikal-Besitzstandes [...]". - Eine Zession des Julius Gf. von Hardegg betreffend die Verlassenschaft eines Roland von Enders und lastende Schulden auf den Besitzungen Schmida, Parschenbrunn und Wolfpassing von 1000 fl. gegenüber Anton Nikolaus von Enders, die über Christoph von Enderes in Höhe von 500 fl. an Anton von Pistrich und seine Schwestern Theresia und Cäcilia von Pistrich abgetreten werden; Cäcilia verzichtet, um den gesamten Betrag ihrer Schwester zu überlassen. Mit den eh. Unterschriften der Cäcilia von Pistrich, der Zeugen Johann von Wernle und Johann Hatzl ("Kurat im allgemeinen Krankenhaus") sowie der weiteren U. Franz Berls zur Eintragung der Zession, diese mit zwei Gegenzeichnungen. - Der "Theillibells Entwurf" eines Alois P. von Ehreintfall in alter Abschrift mit eh. Beglaubigung und U. des Registraturdirektors Johann von Hamberger zur Verlassenschaft des Christoph Edlen von Enders über 8820 fl., worin die Schwestern Cäcilia und Theresia von Pistrich als Universalerbinnen des Anton von Pistrich eingesetzt und die Kinder seines verstorbenen Neffen, Johann Edler von Pistrich, mit einem Erbschaftsanteil und einem Vormund bedacht werden. - Der Ausweis mit Aktenvermerken verso, an den Rändern etwas gebräunt und leicht braunfleckig, die Ränder leicht lädiert, am Falz mit längeren Einrissen. Der "Particular-Tabular-Extract" und die "Cession" an den Rändern leicht lädiert und gebräunt. Der "Theilliebells Entwurf" am oberen Rand stärker angestaubt.
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Torkos, Paul von, Herzoglich Coburgscher Rechnungsrat zu Wien (fl. 1860).
Eigenh. Dokument mit U. Wien, 31. XII. 1865.
3½ SS. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Tabelle in roter Tinte mit eh. Eintragungen in schwarzer Tinte. Kostenabrechnung für Ferdinand II. (1816-85), Prinz von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha: "Geldrechnung Sr. Majestaet des Königs Ferdinand von Portugal für das Jahr 1865" mit einem Kontostand von 166.050 fl. Ö.W. in Silber oder 410.000 Francs zum Jahresende. - Aus Anlass der Eheschließung mit der verwitweten Maria II., Königin von Portugal, wurde Ferdinand mit dem Prädikat "Königliche Hoheit" zum Herzog von Braganza erhoben. Die Ehe arrangierte Ferdinands Onkel, der belgische König Leopold I. Im Ehevertrag wurde für Ferdinand ein jährlicher Unterhalt von 9.000 Pfund Sterling festgelegt, der nach der Geburt eines Thronfolgers noch verdoppelt werden sollte (vgl. Jb. für Europ. Geschichte 8 [2007], S. 112). - Mit größeren Randeinrissen und Papierdurchbrüchen entlang der Faltlinien, teilweise mit dünnen Papierstreifen hinterlegt. Aktenvermerk verso.
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Turgenjew, Iwan Sergejewitsch, Schriftsteller (1818-1883).
Eigenh. Brief mit U. Bougival, 31. X. 1881.
1 S. 8vo. Gerahmt (285 x 325 mm). In französischer Sprache an Madame Adam mit der Zusage seines Kommens zum Abendessen: "J'accepte avec le plus grand plaisir votre invitation pour le diner du 4 novembre [...]". Zuletzt in der Sammlung Alfred Knizek, Mauerbach bei Wien.
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[Bauhaus].
Collective letter with the signatures of 68 teachers and students of the Bauhaus in Weimar. [Weimar, 1923].
Large folio (ca. 46,3 x 20,4 cm). Blue ink (text) and pencil (signatures) on paper. 4 pp. To the ballet dancers and choreographers Albert Burger and Elsa Hötzel in Stuttgart, who had, together with Oskar Schlemmer, conceived the famous "Triadisches Ballett" (Triadic Ballet), cordially inviting them to perform the piece on the occasion of the 1923 Bauhaus Week in Weimar: "Wir Bauhäusler möchten Sie so von ganzem Herzen bitten kommen Sie doch mit Ihrem Ballett zur Bauhauswoche hierher. Sie wissen garnicht, was für eine grosse Freude Sie uns allen damit bereiten würden auch sind wir überzeugt, das Ihr Auftreten in diesen Tagen sehr viel zum Gelingen der Festwoche verhelfen könnte". - The charming letter is signed by no fewer than 68 "Bauhäuslers", including some of the art school's most prominent members: among the teachers who signed the letter are, in order of appearance, Gunta Stölzl, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Georg Muche, Lothar Schreyer, and Josef Hartwig. The students include Kurt Schmidt, Dörte Helm, Ida Kerkovius, Erich Consemüller, Marcel Breuer, Andreas Feininger, Felix Klee, Lily Klee, Kurt Schwerdtfeger, and Farkas Molnár. Both Paul Klee and Wassily added brief notes for the recipients. Klee wrote: "Nachdem ich soviel Schönes über Ihre Leistung gehört habe, würde ich mich sehr freuen, wenn Weimar zum Genuss Ihrer Kunst käme". - Burger and Hötzel followed the invitation of the Bauhaus and enjoyed a successful performance of their ballet on 16 August 1923 in the theatre in Weimar. - Stamped with the "Sternenmännchen" logo of the Bauhaus, designed by Karl Peter Röhl. Traces of folds. Formerly separated into two parts, affecting two of the signatures, but professionally repaired. Some yellowing and very minor stains. Contemporary punched holes.
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Manet, Édouard, French painter (1832-1883).
Autograph letter signed ("E. Manet") and illustrated with original watercolours. Bellevue, "jeudi" [July 1880].
8vo (124 x 200 mm). 3 pp. on bifolium. With five original watercolour and ink wash drawings as well as an ink portrait sketch of Jules Guillemet. Mounted at the beginning of an 8vo volume (248 x 160 cm) bound in early 20th century half-vellum with morocco title label (scattered foxing, spine a little rubbed), containing three studies of Manet which appeared in the year after his death. To the wife of his friend Jules Guillemet: an exceptional, unpublished letter illustrated with five watercolours showing little bags (which Manet called "pochettes") of various shapes and sizes, asking her to choose a model which he will then bring her from Paris: "Très bien choisie, la brioche. Je ne l’ai [pas] réussi [!] hier je la recommencerai aujourd’hui. J’irai à Paris probablement ces jours-ci et je vous apporterai en échange un rose, un jaune, ou un bleu à votre goût. Ecrivez-moi ce que vous voulez et la forme ; écrivez-moi ce que vous vouliez. J’irai vous demander à déjeuner ce jour-là. Ce n’est pas gentil de nous avoir fait faux bond mardi [...]". On the verso is a pen-and-ink portrait of the correspondent's husband, the tracing of a self-portrait by Guillemet himself: "Voilà Jules dessiné par lui-même je le décalque avec tout le soin possible". - For Manet, fashion and its accessoires represented nothing less than modern life itself. The motif of fashion accessoires is frequent in his letters, which frequently "contain pictorial references to elements of feminine adornment: hats, little boots, handbags, parasols, etc. The hats and the bag appear as elements of a still life [...] These small watercolours constitute dashed-off manifestations of the same deep interest that we find in his more elaborately conceived large canvases" (cf. G. Mauner, "Un arrosoir et quelques articles de mode", in: Manet, les natures mortes, Musée d’Orsay, 2001, p. 140). - The three Monet studies in the volume are: - 1) Edmond Bazire. Manet. Paris, A. Quantin, 1884. With 2 original etchings by Manet's "L'Odalisque couchée" and "La Convalescente" (M. Guerin, nos. 64 and 65, this one in third state), 3 etchings after Manet by H. Guérard, 6 photogravures after Manet, a facsimile of a letter to Mme Guérard, and many other illustrations. First edition of Manet's first biography, published a few months after the artist's death by his great friend. - 2) Jacques de Biez. Edouard Manet. Conférence faite à la salle des Capucines le mardi 22 janvier 1884. Paris, Ludovic Baschet, 1884. - 3) Joséphin Peladan. "Le procédé de Manet d'après l'exposition de l'École des Beaux-Arts", L'Artiste, February 1884, pp. 101-117. - The texts by Bazire and Péladan are each preceded by a portrait of their author (vintage silver prints, 146 x 103 cm, mounted on a page before the text). Also included in the volume are a portrait of Manet (wood engraving on China paper) and a reproduction of the drawing of his "Polichinelle" (pp. [13] and 14, from an unidentified magazine, mounted and unfolded). - Provenance (according to a handwritten note inserted in the volume): 1) Madame Jules Guillemet (1850-1913), recipient; 2) "Stchukine" (probably Ivan Stchoukine [1869-1908], brother of the great collector Sergei Stchoukine, who settled in France in 1893); 3) unidentified collector who received the volume and the letters from Stchukine: possibly Plácido Zuloaga (1834-1910), whose relationship with Ivan Stchoukine is well attested; 4) Drouot sale after July 1910, Paris; 5) Valentina Zuloaga (bookplate engraved by her husband), daughter-in-law of Plácido Zuloaga and wife of the painter Ignacio Zuloaga (1870-1945); 6) Maria Rosa Suárez Zuloaga, niece of Ignacio Zuloaga; 7) French trade. Cf. Aglaé Achechova, "Aux origines du fonds russe de la BULAC : le don ultime du mystérieux M. Stchoukine. Partie 1", 5 mars 2018. Françoise Cachin, Manet, lettres à Isabelle, Méry et autres dames (Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou, 1985). Arnauld Le Busq, Manet, lettres illustrées (Paris, 2002). Leah Lehmbeck, "'L'Esprit de l'atelier': Manet's Late Portraits of Women, 1878-1883", in: Manet, Portraying Life (London, 2012). Manet 1832-1883 (Paris, Grand Palais, 1983). Manet and Modern Beauty, the artist's last years (Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum & Chicago, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2019). Manet, Les Natures mortes (Paris, Musée d'Orsay, 2001).
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Picasso, Pablo, Spanish painter and sculptor (1881-1973).
Autograph letter signed ("votre Picasso"). Villa "La Californie", Cannes, 2. II. 1960.
Oblong 4to. 1 page. In blue ballpoint to his chambermaid and confidante Inès Sassier, announcing a cheque (not enclosed) to be taken to the lawyer Bernard de Sarriac, who was in charge of controlling the alimony that Picasso owed his children Claude and Paloma: "Ma chère Inès, voici le cheque pour les enfants à porter à Sarriac. Merci, je vous embrasse tous [...]". - Traces of original folds. In near-perfect condition.
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Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand, leader of India during the Indian independence movement (1869-1948).
Photograph of Mahatma Gandhi seated with Sir Richard Casey, Governor of Bengal, during their meeting at Calcutta. Signed by Gandhi ("M. K. Gandhi" and in Gujarati) and Casey ("R. G. Casey"). [Calcutta, December 1945].
160 x 205 mm. Gelatin silver print, stamped in purple on verso: "...Kindly Acknowledge to J. C. Patel A.R.P.S., C/o Bombay Photo Store..., Calcutta". Framed and glazed. Richard Casey (1890-1976) was made Governor of Bengal by Winston Churchill in January 1944, in the immediate aftermath of the great famine, and against a background of increased nationalist agitation. He "was shocked by British racial snobbery, and he tried to break down walls between Government House in Calcutta and the local community" (Australian DNB), partly through the organisation of a series of face-to-face meetings held between himself and Gandhi in Kolkata (Calcutta) in December 1945, at one of which our photograph was taken. In later life Casey served as Governor-General of Australia from 1965 to 1969. - Provenance: Arthur Hughes, Indian Civil Service, Labour Commissioner and Registrar of Trade Unions, Bengal (mentioned in the King's Birthday Honours list for 1943), and later Senior Master at Doon School; by descent to the second last owner. Arthur Hughes and his brother Jack were present in Calcutta at the time of the meeting with Gandhi. Arthur was working for the Civil Service, as correctly stated, and managed to find a role for his younger brother as he left the Gurkhas, with whom he was serving in Bengal at the time. Jack was assigned as Richard Casey's assistant, which launched his career in the Civil Service and he was awarded an OBE in 1959.
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Kim Il-sung, Founder of North Korea and Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1912-1994).
Autograph letter on silk signed ("Kim Il-sung"). [Pyongyang], 13. VIII. 1947.
Ink on blue silk, 696 x 530 mm. Stored in custom-made half morocco case. Formal valedictory address to General Prokofy Logvinovich Romanenko (1897-1949): "Together with the Soviet heroic army, with your blood and your lives, you brought freedom to Korea. You made the Japanese invaders flee, made the enemies run and breathed happy, free, and new life into our nation. In the shortest time North Korea has destroyed the remains of the Japanese imperialistic forces. The People's Committee has became the true power of the people. Under its leadership we victoriously undertake all democratic changes. As a result we shall create such conditions that the people will live freely and happily in the Democratic Republic. Therefore, the people of Korea will never forget your work and your effort. Today we bid you farewell with the warmest gratitude. All the people of Korea will unite around the Committee and promise to fight to the end until the Democratic Republic is formed. We ask you to provide help in the future as well. We wish you health for the years to come. 13/8/1947. The chair of the People’s Committee of North Korea, Kim Il-sung" (transl.). - Folded. Includes a roughly contemporary Russian translation (pencil on ruled paper, 3 pp., oblong 8vo). - General Romanenko, one of the key Soviet military leaders of the Second World War, had been assigned to the East Siberian Military Region in 1945. He was one of the official Soviet liaisons with the temporary government of North Korea (the "People's Committee"), organised in 1946. Recently returned from the USSR in February 1946, Kim Il-sung was appointed chairman of the Committee, marking the beginning of his ascent to power. Romanenko was generally supportive of Kim’s efforts, in line with Soviet official policy: in 1946 he allowed 500 ethnically Korean Soviet citizens to enter North Korea, at Kim’s request. Most of them were administrative specialists or engineers. - Provenance: by descent to Koloss Prokofievich Romanenko (b. 1925), the son of Prokofy Romanenko; sold to a Russian private collection; acquired from the collector's heirs. Includes a copy of the previous owner's statement of acquisition.
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Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov), revolutionary, Marxist thinker, founder of the Soviet Union (1870-1924).
Photograph signed and dated. No place, 26 May 1920.
Albumen print, ca. 115 x 85 mm, under brown cardboard matte (17 x 13 cm). A very rare example of a signed Lenin portrait. Dated in his own hand "26/V 1920" and signed in French as "Vladimir Oulianoff". Additional signature of the photographer, Moses Solomonovitch Nappelbaum (1869-1958), in pencil in the lower right corner of the cardboard matte. Nappelbaum shot the famous portrait at the Smolny Institute in St Petersburg in 1918. The present print shows typical graphic retouching by the artist to the background and lapel areas. A near-identical print, inscribed by Lenin on 15 April 1920, is in the Corrêa do Lago collection (Magia del Manoscritto catalogue, p. 206). - By tradition, this photograph was presented by Lenin to the English socialist politician George Lansbury (1859-1940), who had visited the Soviet Union in early 1920 and hat met the leader of the Revolution in Moscow on 22 February. Later that same year, Lansbury published a widely received account of his journey, "What I Saw in Russia", in which he gave a highly flattering portrayal of Lenin. - Occasional insignificant scuffs; dark areas show some silver mirroring due to the oxidative-reductive process. Nappelbaum's signature is rather faded, while that of Lenin remains stark and well-defined. - Provenance: Swiss private collection; accompanied by a description from Diana J. Rendell, Inc., Massachusetts.
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Mao Zedong, Chinese statesman (1893-1976).
Printed menu card for a state banquet signed. [Beijing, 19 Oct. 1956].
Narrow 8vo. 1 p. Steel-engraved state insignia printed in red to head of sheet. Menu card for the state banquet in honour of the Pakistani statesman Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (1892-1963), who only a month earlier had become Prime Minister. The card is signed by Mao and Suhrawardy, as well as by five Chinese statesmen: Zhou Enlai (1898-1976, the official host and Premier of the PRC), Huang Yanpei (1878-1965, Vice Premier of the State Council and Minister of Industry since 1954), Peng Zhen (1902-97, Mayor of Beijing, deposed in 1966 but rehabilitated in 1979 and later Chairman of the National People's Congress), Chen Yun (1905-95, leading economic politician, Party Vice Chairman and later one of the major architects and important policy makers for the Chinese economic reform), and Zhu De (1886-1976, Vice Chairman of the Communist Party and of the PRC, long the Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army and Mao's military advisor since the 1930s). - During this first visit to China by a Pakistani Prime Minister, the delegations discussed matters such as the exchange of goods (coal for cotton) and industrial development, improvements in water management and the training of engineers. In his conversation with Suhrawardy, Zhou sought to dispel fears of Chinese hegemony: China herself, he pointed out, had suffered under Western colonialism and now wished to pursue industrial development in the spirit of peaceful co-existence with all countries, based on mutual respect. Zhou insisted to a skeptical Suhrawardy that the education of the current generation of Chinese political leaders would ensure that future generations would not commit war or aggression. - A little sunned showing very light traces of matting along the edges, otherwise flawless. Signatures by the "Great Chairman" Mao are extremely rare; an ensemble of signatures by several important figures of the first generation of leaders of the People's Republic is almost unprecedented in the trade.
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Napoleon, Emperor of the French (1769-1821).
Document signed ("Bonaparte"). Cairo, "le 26 fructidor an 6" [12 September 1798].
Small folio (227 x 345 mm). 1 page. On headed stationery. Framed and glazed (320 x 441 mm). A scribal order to establish boards of trade in several Egyptian cities. Napoleon writes to his general in Cairo, requesting the names of such persons suitable to staff the Cairo board, mentioning that the board members for Rosette, Alexandria and Damiette will be named by the generals in charge there, and concluding with a request for three copies of the order, intended for the other generals: "Vous trouverez cy joint l'ordre p. l'établissement d'un tribunal de commerce. Faites moi passer les noms de ceux qui vous croyez devoir composer le tribunal de caire. Quant aux tribunaux de rosette, d'alexandrie et de damiette, les généraux commandant en place en nommeront les membres. Je vous prie de me faire passer aujourd'huy trois copies de cet ordre pour être envoyée à ces generaux [...]". - With a handwritten postscript, presumably by the recipient, passing on the order to his colleagues in Alexandria, Rosette and Damiette (dated Cairo, "27 fructidor an 6" [13 September 1798]). - Very slightly brownstained in places; upper margin somewhat dust-toned. A fine document of Napoleon's efforts to set up French colonial administration in Egypt.
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Nightingale, Florence, English social reformer and nurse (1820-1910).
11 autograph letters signed, 1 autograph letter, autograph correspondence card signed, 2 letters (one signed), and facsimile autograph letter signed. Claydon House and 10 South Street, Park Lane, W. [London], 1883-1896.
(Oblong) 8vo. Altogether 73¾ pp. on 22 bifolia and 1 single sheet. 11 letters in pencil; 2 on mourning paper. 6 with engraved or printed letterhead. With one autograph envelope. Amicable correspondence with her good friend Jessie Lennox (1830-1933), one of the original "Nightingale Nurses" who trained at the Florence Nightingale School at St. Thomas's Hospital in London in the 1860s. Written in the fondest terms and taking great interest in her work, Florence Nightingale rejoices at the progress already made in the nursing profession, asks for advice and discusses at length, over several letters, the ideal role of the matron she wishes to appoint to take over the care of some 500 poor boys in an "industrial boys home". The matron, she writes, should embody the practicalities of a trained nurse with a mother's care for her charges, with an emphasis on good diet, warm clothing and good shoes. She cites the story of Ella Pirrie, the Lady Superintendent of the Union Infirmary at Belfast, who persuaded a child struck dumb to speak by adopting this gentle approach when harsher means had failed. She asks Lennox's advice in drawing up a set of requirements to put forward as clearly as possible to the "man committee": "This [...] is a difficulty because the man-Committee does not seem to think a woman has any business in the Barrack huts at all [...] In fact I do not expect to get her at all [...]" (11 April 1887). Her frustration with such committees is evident, even for an influential person such as herself, but she recognizes the enormous progress that has already been made in changing the status of nursing into a highly trained respectable profession. She goes on to discuss the tasks of the district nurse and her ability to become a role model: "The work of the District Nurses is truly not only to nurse, but to teach the families how to nurse […] to know to what charity or authority to apply, to get flannels, sick comforts, food & stimulants, where ordered - sick appliances, bedding, warm clothing, where imperatively needed [...] do not you think that these things had better not be given by the District Nurse herself. For where alms-giving, clothes-giving [...] is practiced by the nurse, real nursing flies out of the window [...] if the nurse has really that influence which she ought to have in the Patient's family, do they not become ashamed of letting her see the man or the woman drunk again? And does not that exercise a reforming influence? [...]" (23 May 1889). - The collection includes a facsimile letter dated May 1900 addressed to all her nurses ("My dear children") in which she recognizes her role as the Mother of Nursing and speaks of advances in medicine and the professionalisation of nursing, ending however with a swipe at the suffragists: "You have called me your mother-chief, it is an honour to me & a great honour, to call you my children [...] Woman was the home drudge. Now she is the teacher. Let her not forfeit it by being the arrogant - the 'Equal with men' [...]". - Enclosed is an ALS by Jessie Lennox to Dr Lilias Maclay (b.1893), discussing a letter Lennox gave to Maclay seven years after the death of Florence Nightingale: "This one was written when Miss Florence Nightingale was quite an old lady, when her hand was not very steady. The writing in the early ones is much stronger [...] her body is at rest but her work is still very much with us [...]" (Edinburgh, 21 Dec. 1917). With autograph envelope. Maclay had enrolled at Glasgow University to study for a medical degree in 1912, passing the course with first class certificates in clinical surgery. During WWI she served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Egypt and is one of the few females featured in the University's Roll of Honour. After her marriage to John Edmund Hamilton in 1926 she practised as a doctor in Glasgow and Edinburgh. - Further includes a typescript solicitor's letter, confirming that a total of 16 letters by Florence Nightingale were bequeathed to Dr Maclay after Lennox's death in 1933. - An extraordinarily well-preserved set.
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Stalin, Josef (Dzhugashvili), Russian dictator (1878-1953).
Autograph letter signed. No place, 4. III. 1937.
8vo. 1 page. In blue and red crayon. A humorous correspondence with his daughter Svetlana, giving her the desired permission to invite two classmates for the weekend: "For Secretary Number 1 Mr Stalin / Decree Number 2 / I order you to permit me to invite two boys and a girl from my class this weekend (12/3/37). / Insurgent - Svetlanka Stalina [stamp] / Signed / I submit myself / Secretary to Svetlanka - insurgent / Stalin". Very well preserved document of Stalin's private family life, pervaded by the formulae of party bureaucracy.
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Clough, Arthur Hugh, English poet (1819-1861).
Autograph letter signed ("A. H. Clough"), with the draft of a poem. [Oxford], "Sunday Morning ('Tis the Second Morn of May)", 2 May [1841].
3 pp. on bifolium with integral address panel, to the "Revd. T. Burbidge, Rugby". One penny postage stamp. Traces of seal. Includes a photographic albumen print copy of a portrait of Clough. A very early, unknown letter to his friend Thomas Burbidge (1816-92) at Rugby, written while Clough was preparing for his final exams at Balliol: - "My dear Burbidge, You must not let another washing-day go by without writing to me. I am not very hard at work, for I am very tired &, since Yesterday Morning, not over well; perhaps in part owing to the heat which was more than worthy of May-day. I find that I have forgotten my books by wholesale, & I really cannot get them up again; so I take my chance; & indeed I care very little whether I miss or not. I fell into another Sonnet the other day; which I will send you to fill up the half sheet, & for that reason only, I am sure. / To the great Metropolis. / Traffic, to speak from knowledge scarce begun, / I saw & travelling & fashion. Yea, / And if that Competition & display / Make a great Capital, then thou art one, / One, it may be, unrivalled neath the Sun. / But [outward, corrected to:] sovereign Symbol of the great and good, / True Royalty & genuine Statesmanhood, / Nobleness, learning, Piety was none. / If such realities indeed there are / Working within, unsignified, tis well; / The Stranger's fancy of the thing thou art / Is rather truly of a huge Bazaar, / A railway-terminus, a gay Hotel, / Anything but a mighty Nation's heart. Or should we begin better / If speak I may from knowledge but begun / Travelling there is, traffic, & fashion; - Yea, / If Stir & Competition &c.". - Clough had first visited London that April - on two weeks' vacation for extra tuition from a science tutor, Robert Lowe - and the satirical sonnet he produced reveals how little he must have enjoyed his stay. The poem was first published in 1951 in Lowry's, Norrington's and Mulhauser's edition, from a fair copy in the author's 1839-42 notebook. The present textual witness, hitherto unknown, provides interesting variations and amendments and may well pre-date the fair copy, which is simply annotated "April 1841". - Clough's ostensible indifference toward the results of his imminent examinations - the first paper would be written a week later, on 10 May, and the final oral exam was due for the 19th - was given the lie when, upon obtaining merely second class honours, he at once walked all the way to Rugby to confess to Dr Arnold, "I have failed". Unpublished in F. L. Mulhauser (ed.), The Correspondence of Arthur Hugh Clough (OUP 1957), nor in his census of known letters.
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[Kafka, Franz, writer (1883-1924)]. Busse, Ludwig.
Geist und Körper, Seele und Leib. Leipzig, Verlag der Dürr'schen Buchhandlung, 1903.
Large 8vo (162 x 232 mm). X, 488, (6) pp. Inscribed by Kafka and other friends to the philosopher Hugo Bergmann, Prague, 18 December 1905. Publisher's original cloth (a little rubbed, spine rebacked with original printed spine, hinges professionally restored). First edition. The title-page has a presentation inscription to the 21-year-old Hugo Bergmann on the day of his doctorate in philosophy: "Zur Erinnerung an unser gemeinschaftliches Streben" ("In memory of our common endeavours"). Written in the hand of the Prague intellectual Berta Fanta, the presentation is signed by her and six other members of their friendship circle: Bergmann's former classmate Franz Kafka, Dr. Max Lederer, Ida Freund, Oskar Pollak, his uncle Leopold Pollak, and Emil Utitz. - Berta Fanta (1865-1918) led a well-known Prague literary and philosophical salon, attended variously by Albert Einstein, Kafka, Brod, Bergmann (who was to marry Fanta's daughter Else), Rudolf Steiner and others. Ida Freund (1868-1931) was Fanta's sister. Like Bergmann, the jurist Max Lederer had been a student of the philosopher Anton Marty and shared the circle's interest in the philosophy of Franz Brentano. The art historian Oskar Pollak (1883-1915) had been succeeded by Kafka as rapporteur of the literary arts section Prague's Charles University in 1903. Kafka's classmate Emil Utitz (1883-1956) would defend his own PhD in 1906. He went on to teach philosophy and psychology at Rostock and later at Halle; after his deportation to Theresienstadt, he was head of the ghetto library. - The recipient Hugo Bergmann (1883-1975) had been a schoolfriend of Kafka's, and was close to Max Brod, whom he introduced to Zionism. Bergmann emigrated to Israel in 1920, where he was director of the Jewish National Library and a professor, and later dean, of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In his reminiscences of Kafka, published and reprinted in various journals from 1969 onward, Bergmann describes this presentation volume, adding that "a graphologist would undoubtedly signalize the fact that, while the others wrote their signatures in a column, one underneath the other, Kafka set his own name apart from the others, to one side" (cf. Bergmann 1972, p. 745). - The book forms the principal work of the German philosopher Busse, a classic of the turn-of-the-century discussion over the relationship of mind and body, when psychology was emancipating itself as a discipline independent from philosophy. The numerous pencil annotations in Bergmann's characteristic shorthand show that he read the volume closely. Kafka, Kritische Ausgabe: Briefe 1900-1912 (Frankfurt, 1999), p. 381. S. H. Bergmann, "Erinnerungen an Franz Kafka - Recollections of Franz Kafka - Kitay zikaron", in: Exhibition Franz Kafka 1883-1924. Catalogue (Jerusalem 1969), pp. 5-20/5-10, illustrated on p. 23. The same, "Erinnerungen an Franz Kafka", in: Universitas 27 (1972), p. 739-750, at p. 745.
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Tolstoy, Leo, Russian novelist (1828-1910).
Portrait photograph signed ("Leo Tolstoy"). No place, April 1910.
182 x 139 mm. Signed in Latin script on the image. With two enclosures. The well-known image by Vladimir Grigorievich Chertkov shows Tolstoy with his granddaughter Tatiana Sukhotina at Yasnaya Polyana. Together with a cabinet photograph signed by Tolstoy's eldest daughter Tatiana in 1897, and a portrait photograph signed by Tolstoy's youngest daughter Alexandra (undated, but after 1931). - Tatiana Mikhailovna Sukhotina was aged 5 in 1910: she later married Leonardo Albertini, son of the celebrated newspaper editor and historian, Luigi Albertini. Her mother, Tatiana Lvovna Tolstaya (1864-1950), was Tolstoy's eldest daughter: she married Mikhail Sergeevich Sukhotin in 1899, in the face of her father's fierce opposition; she was later guardian of the museum at Yasnaya Polyana, and director of the Tolstoy Museum in Moscow in 1923-25, before emigrating to France and then Italy. Alexandra Tolstaya (1884-1979) was Tolstoy's youngest daughter, secretary and later executor: she emigrated to the United States in 1931. The photographer, Vladimir Grigorievich Chertkov (1854-1936), was a prominent Tolstoyan, and later became the writer's literary executor. He was by some accounts responsible for the rapid deterioration in Tolstoy's relationship with his wife, which culminated in his extraordinary escape from home immediately before his death at Astopovo railway station on 7/20 November, only six months after his inscription of this appealing portrait.
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Wiener Werkstätte - Koloman Moser / Josef Hoffmann.
Presentation box containing 127 congratulatory cards by notable writers and artists, inscribed to the Viennese humorist Eduard Pötzl. Vienna, 1910/1911.
Red dyed leather with giltstamped ornaments. Resting on four silver plated brass feet. 17.7 x 18 x 18 cm. Contains 127 written cards, 150 x 150 mm. Unique, splendidly presented collection of 127 birthday cards, personally inscribed by notable Austrian and German writers and artists including Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, and Arthur Schnitzler. - The elaborate red morocco casket, a masterpiece from the Wiener Werkstätte in the shape of a little house with a curved roof in the Asian style, was commissioned by the Viennese publisher Robert Mohr for the 60th birthday of his possibly most important author, the Viennese humorist Eduard Pötzl (1851-1914), celebrated on 17 March 1911. The design agrees in many details with that of a postcard box created in 1906 by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann for the "Imperial and Royal Military Mail in Bosnia-Herzegovina" (WW Archive, MAK Vienna, see below). While its present counterpart is only stamped "Wiener Werkstätte", it departs from Moser's highly characteristic design merely in the four dented olive-shaped feet which replace the legs and in the ornamental gilt dots along the gable, used in place of a row of tiny balls, for which reason the design can be attributed to Moser with a high degree of certainty. The postcard box was realised only in late 1910 or early 1911, more or less simultaneously with the present coffer, at a time when Moser had already left the Wiener Werkstätte - which explains why Hoffmann was named as the executive artist. - The interior of the lid bears the publisher's gilt dedication with the date of the jubilee. To facilitate the removal of the loosely stored cards, the front of the box folds down upon opening - a characteristic feature of the Viennese tradition of box-making. All birthday greetings are inscribed on pre-printed square cards bordered by triple rules incorporating the date of Pötzl's 60th birthday. Among the many other noted contributors who form a Who's Who not only of the Viennese literary and art scene in the first decade of the 20th century are Peter Altenberg, Raoul Auernheimer, Hermann Bahr, Vincenz Chiavacci, Felix Dahn, Josef Engelhart, Franz Karl Ginzkey, Max Kalbeck, Alexander Roda Roda, Peter Rossegger, Felix Salten, Hugo Salus, Richard Schaukal, and Jakob Wassermann. - Trained for the law, the sometime civil servant Eduard Pötzl soon entered the world of journalism, editing the widely circulated "Neues Wiener Tagblatt", writing courtroom reports, satires of Viennese society, short stories, and humoristic sketches (cf. Giebisch/Gugitz, p. 305f.). He is commemorated by an honorary gravesite in Vienna's Central Cemetery and a street named after him in the city's 18th district. - Hinge very slightly misadjusted; insignificant stain to front of the lid, otherwise impeccable. Cf. Wiener Werkstätte archive, MAK Vienna: model no. BL 428; inv. no. KI 12564-8 (design), WWF 100-65-1 (contemporary photograph).
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Beethoven, Ludwig van, composer (1770-1827).
Autograph letter signed ("Beethoven"). Vienna, 23. III. 1812.
Small 4to (ca. 160 x 158 mm). 1 p. Stored in custom-made burgundy morocco chemise, interior finished with navy-blue morocco, inner front cover with a steel-engraved portrait of Beethoven under a silk matte. To the Viennese civil servant Franz Rettich (1768-1818), who was to help Beethoven send urgently needed scores to Graz for a charity concert on March 29th, only six days hence: - "Es dürften bis Morgen abend wohl sicher noch die 2 overturen folgen, und so wird Ihnen geholfen, jedoch mit der äußersten Anstrengung. Schreiben Sie nur gefälligst, daß man in Graz sicher alles erwartete erhalte, jedoch muß man sich im Voraus gefaßt machen zur Probe, da die Sachen mit dem Postwagen zwar nicht zu spät, aber doch auch nur eben zur rechten Zeit ankommen werden [...]" ("The two overtures ought quite certainly to follow by tomorrow evening, and so you shall be accommodated, but only thanks to the greatest exertions. Just kindly write that everything expected in Graz will dependably be received, but everyone must prepare for the rehearsal in advance, as the things will arrive by stagecoach, not indeed too late, but still only just in time [...]"). - In summer 1811 Beethoven had met the civil servant and patron of Graz, Joseph von Varena (1769-1843), who had persuaded the composer to support his charity concerts with music. Beethoven was enthusiastic and in late January 1812 promised Varena several pieces, including the overtures of "King Stephen" (op. 117) and "The Ruins of Athens" (op. 113), both of which were already intended for the inauguration of the German theatre in Pest on 9 February and were therefore in Hungary at the time of writing. Franz Rettich, secretary at the Superior Court of Justice in Vienna, was chosen to act as intermediary and messenger. (The father of the actor Karl Rettich, he had himself been a supporting actor at Vienna's court theatre between 1789 and 1797 before entering the civil service.) - In fact, the timing turned out to be extremely tight, as Beethoven's copyist Wenzel Schlemmer, the only man the composer would trust with the job, had fallen ill. In his present note to Rettich, Beethoven promises that the work will be finished in time, but warns that the orchestra in Graz will have very little opportunity to rehearse. Anxious to keep his word, Beethoven even forced Schlemmer to sign a declaration that he would complete the copies by March 26, noon - a pledge he would prove unable to keep. Ultimately, the copies were finished too late to go to Graz with Rettich by regular stagecoach and had to be sent by special courier, whom Rettich paid 21 guilders for the service, arriving at high noon on the day of the concert. The programme began at 6:30 that evening with a (very probably unrehearsed) performance of the "King Stephen" overture, but the overture from "The Ruins of Athens" had to be skipped. Still, the concert played an important role in making Beethoven known in Styria: "Varena, an ally from the very beginning, contributed much to that important first boost which launched a serious and lasting reception of Beethoven's works outside Vienna, enriching the musical life of Graz and amplifying with remarkable swiftness the structure of local concert programmes in the 19th century" (cf. Nemeth, p. 29). - Traces of original vertical and horizontals folds; in excellent condition. On the verso, Rettich has certified the receipt: "This message was written to me and I received it on March 23." Beethoven, Briefwechsel (ed. S. Brandenburg), vol. 2, p. 251, no. 562. F. Bischoff, "Beethoven und die Grazer musikalischen Kreise", Beethovenjahrbuch 1 (1908), pp. 6-27, here at p. 11. Cf. M. Nemeth, Beethoven-Rezeption in Graz im frühen 19. Jahrhundert unter besonderer Berücksichtigung seiner Symphonik und des Grazer Konzertwesens (unpublished M.A. thesis, Graz, 2003).
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Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich, Russian composer (1840-1893).
Autograph letter signed, in Cyrillic ("P. Tchaikovsky"). [St. Petersburg], 17 Nov. 1890 [29 Nov. 1890, Gregorian style].
8vo. 2½ pp. on bifolium. With autograph envelope. Unpublished letter in Russian to Aleksandr Glazunov (1865-1936) in which Tchaikovsky expresses his fatigue and anxieties three weeks before the premiere of "The Queen of Spades" and asks a favour: "I am deadly tired from the opera's rehearsals; tomorrow awaits another one, demanding again great attention and all kinds of anxieties of an author. I am afraid for my disease not to repeat, not going to the concert today. Laziness is unfortunate, but it is necessary [...]. I have a request for you: ask to visit me on Tuesday evening Lyadov [Anatoly Lyadov], both Blumenfelds [Felix and his brother Stanislav Blumenfeld] and Lavrov [Nikolay Stepanovich Lavrov], whom you will not see today, but perhaps you’ll write him a note. I do not know his address. Remind as well Nikolay Andreevich [Rimsky-Korsakov], I am most convincingly asking him to be at my place on Tuesday evening. And please, do not forget! [...]" (transl.). - This important letter adds to only twelve known letters from Tchaikovsky to his friend and protegé Glazunov, dating from 1887 to 1892. It provides insights into Tchaikovsky's St. Petersburg circle, members of which included the composers Glazunov, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Anatoly Lyadov, who were part of the so called Belyayev circle, the composer and conductor Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931), his brother the piano teacher Stanislav Blumenfeld (1850-97), and the pianist Nikolay Stepanovich Lavrov (1861-1927). The letter was written during the rehearsals for "The Queen of Spades" which premiered successfully at Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on 19 Dec. 1890 (Gregorian calendar). - Folded and slightly smudged; envelope somewhat foxed.
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Bacon, Francis, English philosopher, statesman, and scientist (1561-1626).
Letter signed and subscribed ("assured/ fr. verulam Canc[ellarius]"). Gorhambury, 3. VIII. 1619.
Folio. 1 page. With integral address leaf. Letter signed and subscribed ("assured/ fr. verulam Canc[ellarius]"), as Baron Verulam and Lord Chancellor, to Lord Zouch, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, notifying him of a forthcoming legal case affecting his prerogative: "There are protest gone out at Mr Attorney Generalls prayer against Hugh Hugginson and Josias Ente concerning the busines against the Dutchmen in Starchamber. Out of a desire to extened the ancient priviledges and customes due to your place not to serve such protest within your jurisdiction without your leave and contente, I have thought it good hereby to desire your Lordship for his Majesties service, that you would cause them forthwith to be sent papers to answer Mr Attorneys Bill and abide such further proceedings as their case shall require". - Written in a secretarial hand, with the place, date and closing in an italic hand, as is Bacon's signature and subscription; contemporary endorsement. - From the Spiro Family Collection (Christie's, London, 3 December 2003, lot 59). Printed by Spedding; two other manuscript sources (although not our original) are listed by the online CELL calendar, The Correspondence of Francis Bacon.
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Darwin, Charles, English naturalist (1809-1882).
Autograph letter signed. Down Farnborough Kent, 8. [VIII. 1850].
8vo. 4 pp. on bifolium. An important letter which underscores Darwin's belief in the scientific significance of the study of Cirripedia (barnacles). To Nathaniel Thomas Wetherell: "I fear that you will think me a sad trespasser on your kindness & forbearance, when I tell you that I have not actually completed my description of Loricula; but I shall do it directly & write now to obtain your permission to take (myself) your specimen to Mr. James De C. Sowerby to [be] drawn for publication by the Palæontographical Society.- I have received Mr [John Wickham] Flower's specimens, & some from Denmark but none are related to the Loricula, which is as perplexing as ever to me.- Immediately that Mr Sowerby has with your permission figured the Loricula (& I shall take it up in a fortnight) it shall be returned to you. - Is there any safe place where I could leave it in London for you, or shall I return it by a messenger? - I believe I did once before ask you, whether you have any other fossil Cirripedia. - To save you the trouble of answering, I will assume, without I hear to the contrary that Mr Sowerby may figure it. - With my best thanks | I remain dear Sir | Yours faithfully | C. Darwin | I assure you that it has not been idleness which has delayed me, but numbers of specimens of other fossil Cirri[pe]des". - We are able to date this letter precisely because August 1850 was the only month with a 'Thursday 8th' in the period between the Palaeontographical Society's decision to publish Fossil Cirripedia and the publication of the first volume of this work in 1851, in which Loricula pulchella is described (Fossil Cirripedia (1851): 81-6). - James de Carle Sowerby drew all the figures of the specimens in the first volume of Fossil Cirripedia. At the time of writing, Darwin does not seem to have known that George Brettingham Sowerby Jr had described and figured this particular specimen in 1843. However, since that time Wetherell had cleared away more material from the specimen, revealing features not seen by G.B. Sowerby Jr, and a new drawing was made for Darwin's description (Fossil Cirripedia (1851): 81). (Darwin Correspondence Project). - Published by the Darwin Correspondence Project, University of Cambridge, as Letter no. DCP-LETT-1267. - Slight damage to paper (no loss to text) and in some parts professionally restored.
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Einstein, Albert, German-born physicist and Nobel laureate (1879-1955).
Typed letter signed (“A. Einstein”). Princeton, 25 July 1946.
4to. 1 p. In German. To Helene Katzenstein, the widow of Einstein's close friend and sometime sailing companion, the Berlin surgeon Moritz Katzenstein (1872-1932): "I deeply feel what a difficult time you are having under the present circumstances. And I shall gladly do anything to rescue you from this unsatisfactory and depressing situation. I myself have experienced at close quarters what trouble people can create for each other in everyday life when bound together within such a restricted space. Assume as philosophical a stance as you can and remember that a leopard cannot change his spots for all the sharpness of his claws [...]". - On stationery with printed letterhead; traces of folds.
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Heaviside, Oliver, English mathematician and physicist (1850-1925).
Two autograph letters signed. Torquay, 1909 and 1915.
Small 4to. (203 x 166 mm). Altogether (¾+2 =) 2¾ pp. on 2 ff. The second letter with scientific formulae and notations, annotated by Silberstein at the top left corner. Two densely scientific letters on "operational calculus", vector notation and the laws of dynamics by the pioneering physicist and electrical engineer Oliver Heaviside, from the archive of the Polish-American physicist and opponent of Einstein, Ludwik Silberstein (1872-1948). - The first letter responding to Silberstein's request for copies of his papers, "On Operators in Physical Mathematics" (published 1892/93), the final part unavailable "because it received the honour of being declined [for publication]". Heaviside notes that the second part of his E.M.T. ("Electromagnetic Theory", 1899) contains the same material, while the third part, whose publication has been "delayed by editorial inappreciation", has more on "operational stuff", on which he elaborates a little. - The second letter opens with Heaviside confirming receipt of Silberstein's book (presumably "Vectorial Mechanics", 1913) and paper - "I am very glad you adopted (in the main) my notation in vectors. To be practically useful, we must not conflict with ordinary alg[ebraic] practices, tho' we may extend their meanings" - before launching into a detailed set of improvements that might be made to Silberstein's system of formulae and notation of vectors in a second edition. "Physicists have no interest in elaborations of formulas they don't use, & c'd not remember. Besides, in more advanced work the needed extensions can be introduced when wanted". He continues at length, broadening his exposition to touch on the physics of d'Alembert, Lagrange and Newton and current understanding of the laws of motion. - Provenance: from the sale of Ludwik Silberstein's archive, RR Auctions, 20 May 2021, lots 4031 and 4033. Autograph material by Heaviside is notably rare on the market.
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Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, philosopher and mathematician (1646-1716).
Autograph letter signed ("Leibniz"). Hannover, 18. IV. 1698.
10 pp. (including postscript) on 2 bifolia and one single leaf, 8vo (167 x 110 mm) and 4to (206 x 160 mm). In French, with amendments and hurried deletions throughout. A long, wide-ranging letter to the Scottish lawyer Thomas Burnett (1656-1729) in which Leibniz explains that he intends to write about books received from Burnett and mentions the controversy between John Locke and the Bishop of Worcester, but has no time to do so at present. He encloses some verses from Paris by M. Cresset ("God save the King of Spain, otherwise everything will go completely haywire, and England will not feel at all happy about having being disarmed"), confirms he has received a book on the Council of Trent from the Bishop of Salisbury (Thomas's kinsman Gilbert Burnet), and discusses the literary tastes of the Electress of Brunswick, whose books must "show spirit, and have at the same time something cheerful about them" owing to the recent loss of her husband Ernst August, Elector of Brunswick, from which she is struggling to recover ("the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"). Leibniz adds a lengthy postscript advising that he is enclosing an extract from a letter he recently sent to the Bishop of Salisbury "in confidence" in which he talks "about matters of religion and the state, both of which are in the competence of the illustrious Bishop", fearing "'black practices' against the King, and that it is right to take every imaginable precaution for the preservation of his person" and hoping that "France will finally resolve herself for good and all to peace. Perhaps she flatters herself that peace will break up the Grand Alliance [...] we in Germany are taking steps to help in assuring the public order [...] to prevent our being taken by surprise". He concludes by describing how he resolved a dispute about coinage of England and muses as to how the King should be designated: "C'est ce que j'ay exprimé par ce distique: Tertius, an primus Guilielmus sit ve secundus, / Desinite o critici quaerere; Magnus erit" ("William First, Or Second, Or Third? / Ask Not, Critics, Great's The Word"). - Includes, on a separate quarto leaf, a fair copy of Leibniz's letter to Gilbert Burnet, headed "P.S.": "I have frequently the honour of attending the Electress of Brunswick, which great Princess sometimes will suffer my conversation. We fall often into religion, and I have long been interested in studying controversies [...]". Leibniz is curious about the "separation of communions which one sees among the Protestants", and thinks the differences with Rome "infinitely more important". He is troubled by news that the House of Lords wavered in excluding "Romanists" from the Crown and wonders why Burnet did not support this exclusion, voicing his concern that a future monarch who had the appearance of Protestantism could be working to destroy it. He asks for Burnet's opinion and urges the matter be brought again before parliament. - This letter forms part of the significant, 18-year-long correspondence between Leibniz and Thomas Burnett of Kemnay in Aberdeenshire, occasioned by their meeting at the court of Hanover in 1695. The most recent Akademie edition of Leibniz's correspondence includes some 29 letters from Leibniz to Burnett and 51 from Burnett to Leibniz written during the period 1695-1707, with more still to be published. When Leibniz met Burnett, he was already corresponding on matters religious and political with his cousin Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury. Leibniz also found in Burnett a useful conduit to fellow philosopher John Locke, with whom he was keen to correspond, and a source of intellectual and political news and gossip from England and elsewhere. Our letter shows he was also the means for Leibniz to obtain the latest writings published in English ("I saw some issues of an English journal or newspaper which was half-way between a scholarly journal and a society newspaper, but I do not know whether it is carried on"). - Also shown here is Leibniz's close relationship with the Electress Sophia, a friendship that lasted for 40 years. Leibniz is clearly preoccupied with English politics and the issue of the Protestant (Hanoverian) succession, demonstrating a great admiration for the English monarchy. At the time of writing, the Electress Sophia was the next Protestant in line to the throne, but it was not until the 1701 Act of Settlement that she was formally named heiress presumptive and, while she did not survive long enough to take up the crown, that position was to be secured by her son George. In the present letter Leibniz fears "black practices" against King William in a precarious political situation and speaks of the readiness of Germany and the Empire to have troops mobilised against France despite negotiations towards peace. - Slight splitting and small holes at folds professionally repaired. Provenance: Thomas Burnett, 2nd Laird of Kemnay (1656-1729), and thence by descent; held in the archive at Kemnay House, Aberdeenshire, until now. The correspondence collected by the Berlin Akademie includes a letter from Leibniz to Gilbert Burnet written three days before ours (no. 311, p. 478), the contents of which, however, bears little resemblance to our "postscript", and it may be, therefore, that our copy is the only surviving record of another letter. Published in Leibniz, Allgemeiner politischer und historischer Briefwechsel (Berlin, 1998) no. 316, L2, pp. 492f., without the postscript to Thomas Burnett or the copy postscript to Gilbert Burnet. Another longer letter to Burnett, written on the same day, is also included in the correspondence (no. 316, L1, pp. 486-491). It is also published Susan Burnett, Without Fanfare: The Story of my Family (Kemnay, 1994), pp .11f., and elsewhere, but not in Gerhardt, Die philosophischen Schriften von G. W. Leibniz.
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Smith, Adam, economist (1723-1790).
Autograph letter signed. Glasgow, 12. III. 1760.
4to. 1½ pp. on bifolium with address on verso. To the 1st Earl of Shelburne, regarding the health of his son Thomas, at the time Smith's student and lodger: "My Lord / It gives me as much pleasure to write to your Lordship today as it gave me pain to write to you by last post. The Doctors Predictions have upon this occasion been literally and exactly fulfilled. Mr. Fitzmaurice had the night before last a very slight attack of his fever which he was relieved from by a gentle sweat; and last night he had a bleeding at the nose which Dr. Black regards as a perfect crisis. He has since been entirely free from all feverish ailments or symptoms [...]". Written in ink in a neat cursive hand, approximately 23 lines to the page, with a few corrections in the text, addressed on the verso of the second sheet, annotated: "Mr. Smith concerning my son Thomas’s health". Sometime folded for posting, some light soiling along the folds. - Adam Smith was appointed professor of logic, and then of moral philosophy at Glasgow in 1751 and 1752 respectively. As a professor, Smith took students into his house, offering both supervision in studies and board and lodging. Of these students, the names of only two have come down to us: Henry Herbert, later Lord Porchester, and Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice. In 1758 Gilbert Elliot, later Lord Minto, recommended Glasgow University rather than Oxford for the education of the younger son of the 1st Earl of Shelburne (the maternal grandson of the economist William Petty). Petty-Fitzmaurice (1742-93) had earlier been educated at Eton. For two years from 1759, Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice lived with Adam Smith. After Glasgow he went to St Mary's Hall, Oxford, in 1761, was called to the English Bar in 1768 and became a Member of Parliament in 1762. In 1779 he set up as a linen merchant and established a bleaching factory at Llewenny in Wales, as his Irish estates were unproductive. He was reported to have lived on “the most intimate terms with Johnson, Hawkesworth and Garrick”. The total number of recorded letters written by Adam Smith is surprisingly small - about 200, of which at least 24 are only known from published sources, which leaves about 176 letters surviving, virtually all in public collections. There are only 11 surviving letters of Adam Smith's predating his correspondence with Lord Shelburne. - Provenance: Bowood, home of the Earls of Shelburne. Mossner, Correspondence of Adam Smith, no. 46 (full transcription included; deletions by Smith are not recorded).
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Kubin, Alfred, Graphiker, Schriftsteller und Buchillustrator (1877-1959).
Eigenh. Albumblatt mit aquarellierter Federzeichnung, Widmung und U. Zwickledt, Dezember 1928.
1 S. 8vo (185:120 mm). Sehr hübsche, sauber ausgeführte Aquarellzeichnung, die den livrierten Kubin beim Überreichen eines Buches zeigt. Die Adressaten der Widmung waren der Münchner Bettfedernfabrikant Karl Adler und dessen Gattin Emilie. Bei Adlers Firma handelte es sich "um den größten Betrieb dieser Art in München, in dem im August 1938 77 Arbeiter und Angestellte beschäftigt waren. Das Unternehmen wurde am 31.08.1938 von den Geschäftsführern abgemeldet, arisiert und von dem 'Nachfolger' Dr. Volkhardt (Fa. Münchener Roßhaarspinnerei Dr. Volkhardt & Cie, Sudetendeutschestraße 20-26) unter neuer Firma weitergeführt. Karl Adler wurde am 10.11.1938 von der Gestapo verhaftet und ins KZ Dachau gebracht. Dort starb er unter nicht geklärten Umständen. Das Dachauer Totenbuch verzeichnet ihn bei den Häftlingen, die eines gewaltsamen Todes starben. Emilie Adler und den fünf Kinder des Ehepaares gelang die Emigration nach Palästina. Emilie Adler starb am 24.12.1974 in Israel" (Gedenkbuch München). - Auf Trägerpapier montiert.
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Menzel, Adolf von, Maler, Zeichner und Illustrator (1815-1905).
Portraitpostkarte mit eigenh. U. O. O. u. D.
8vo. Auf Trägerpapier montiert.
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August, Fürst von Anhalt-Plötzkau und Köthen (1575-1653).
Brief mit eigenh. U. ("des Herrn ganz williger Augustus F z Anhalt"). Plötzkau, 2. I. 1631.
¾ S. auf Doppelblatt. Folio. Wasserzeichen: Horn. Mit Adresse und papiergedecktem Ringsiegel. Als Begleitschreiben an den Kurmainzer geheimen Rat und Domprobst zu Mainz Johann Reinhard von Metternich bezüglich der Ermächtigungen des Amtshauptmanns von Harzgerode und Güntersberge, Kaspar Ernst von Knoch (1582-1641), als Gesandter Augusts: "Wihr haben nicht unterlasßen wolhen, Zu dem Herrn Gegenwertigen dem Vesten, Unsern Rhatt, Hauptman Zu Hatzgerode und lieben Getrewen, Caspar Ernst Knochen, abzufertigen, bey dem Herrn unsertwegen mündiches vor: und anbringen zuthun, Inmasßen derselbe von Ihme mit mehrern Zuvernehmen, Ersuchen demnach dem Herrn hiermit gönstig, Er wolle ermelten, unserm Abgefertigen nicht allein gutwilligen Acceß verstatten, und gleich Uns selbsten vollkommenen Glauben beymesßen, sondern sich auch in Wiederantwortt gegen Unß also vernehmen lasßen [...]". - August war als "Der Sieghafte" Mitglied Nr. 46 der "Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft". - Mit Ausriss, Ausschnitt durch Brieföffnung und Sammlernotiz in Blei.
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Blanc, Louis, French politician and historian (1811-1882).
Autograph letter signed. Paris, 14. IV. 1880.
8vo. 1 page on bifolium. On mourning paper. In French, to an acquaintance about a letter by the politician Jules Favre (1809-80), who had suggested the recipient file an administrative complaint, wondering why he approached him about the matter instead of addressing the deputies of his own department: "Je lis dans la lettre de Mr. Jules Faure, qui accompagnait la vôtre et que je vous renvoie sous ce pli, qu'il n'y a d'autre moyen de vous donner satisfaction que la voie gracieuse. Cela étant, ce n'est pas à moi que vous devez vous adresser pour réussir, et je me demande pourquoi vous ne vous adressez pas aux députés de votre département [...]". - Small marginal flaws. With a small collector's stamp.
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Christian I., Fürst von Anhalt-Bernburg (1568-1630).
Hs. Brief mit Adresse und großem papiergedeckten Siegel. Amberg (Oberpfalz), 8. VIII. 1620.
¾ S. Folio. Die hs. Adresse und das papiergedeckte Siegel verso. Wasserzeichen: Wappen mit Reichsapfel. Mit Pergamentstreifen. Beilage (s. u.). An Johann Georg Hofer von Lobenstein zu Zell (1608-79): eine Beschwerde betreffend die Bewirtschaftung des Lehensguts Lobenstein und Zell, wobei Hofer ein Pferd eingefordert hatte. Fürst Christian entgegnet tadelnd, dass bereits in früheren Jahren Pferde übergeben und Lehen bei der Lehenstube erhalten wurden; bestünde von Seiten Hofers ein rechtmäßiger Anspruch, würde dieser sein Ansuchen "an gebührlichen Orten" stellen: "Unsern grueß zuvor Lieber besonder, Wasmaßen du dich der bedienung des guets Lobenstein unnd darzu gehöriger lehenstuekh beschwert, dass haben wir uß deinem schreiben hören verlesen, weillstich dan befindet, daß die güeter Lobenstein und Zell nicht allein in Anno 1587 mit dreyen Pferden belegt, auch in A.o 1610 damit bedient worden, sondern auch du bißhero obgemeldte lehen bey der lehenstuben empfangen, unnd also deine lehenpflicht unnd darüber gegebene Reuers [Revers, schriftliche Zusage] dahin verbinden, das du solche lehen davon daß eine Pferdt begehrt wirdet, auch verdienen sollest: so wirdestu solchem also der gebür nachzuekommen, unnd gleichwoll wider deine Vettern, so die lehen inhaben, do du deßwegen ein regress oder Zuespruch zuhaben vermeinest solches an gebürlichen ortten ußzuführen wißen [...]". - Christian I., Begründer der Linie Anhalt-Bernburg und calvinistisches Haupt der Protestantischen Union, war als "Der Sehnliche" Mitglied Nr. 26 der "Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft". Der Königsmacher des "Winterkönigs" kommandierte glücklos dessen Heer gegen die katholische Liga und sollte wenige Monate später in der Schlacht am Weißen Berg unterliegen, worauf eine gegen ihn verhängte Reichsacht ihn für knapp vier Jahre ins Exil nach Schweden fliehen ließ. - Mit Empfängervermerk in Tinte, winzigen Papierdurchbrüchen entlang der Faltlinien, einem kleinen Eckeinriss und mehreren parallelen Einschnitten durch Briefverschluss. Das Adressfeld leicht angestaubt, stellenweise leicht braunfleckig. Beiliegend eine Reisekosten-Aufstellung über etwas mehr als 20 Gulden für Christian I. als Statthalter des Kurfürsten Friedrich V. in Amberg (Oberpfalz) mit vermerkten Zahlungen, etwa an das spätere Mitglied der "Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft" Heinrich von Börstell (1581-1647), den Kutscher zwecks Hufbeschlag, diverse Boten und Spenden an Arme. Die Liste mit Paraphe und Spuren alter Montage verso.
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