Mann Thomas

1921 · rif. 14202 — München: Phantasus-Verlag 1921. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Good. First edition of this controversial novella. The present copy is number 25 of 30 numbered copies bound in Saffiano calfskin and SIGNED by Mann and illustrator Thomas Theodor Heine. Of a total edition of 530 copies issued in several bindings this is an example from the smallest limitation and it is a handsome binding indeed. The bottom spine compartment is flapping partly detached but holding precariously. The first and last few leaves are considerably foxed including the limitation page. Two ownership signatures to the first two leaves Ooherwise clean and sound internally. Altogether in good condition. Wälsungenblut The Blood of the Wälsungs was written in 1915 but withheld from publication owing to the similarities between the characters in the story and Mann's new in-laws. In 1905 Mann married Katja Pringsheim and it is believed based his story in part on Katja and her twin brother Klaus Pringsheim reinvented as Siegmund and Sieglinde Wagner's incestuous twins from Die Wälkure 1870 with echoes of the Volsunga Saga. The story was set for publication in the January 1906 issue of Die Neue Rundschau but after discovering the incestuous nature of the story Alfred Pringsheim Mann's father-in-law demanded that publication be withheld. Suppressed for fifteen years Wälsungenblut was finally published in 1921. It remains one of Mann's most controversial stories owing to its depiction of anti-Semitism and incest. The novella was adapted for the award-winning German film Wälsungenblut directed by Rolf Thiele in 1964. Though not in fine condition the book is genuinely rare in this deluxe binding and desirable thus. Phantasus-Verlag hardcover