GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832) - photo 1
GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832) - photo 2

GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832)

Lot 109
09.07.2025 10:30UTC +01:00
Classic
Sold
£ 1 638
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1449847
Lot 109 | GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832)
Estimate value
£ 1 500 – 2 000
GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832)
Schriften. Berlin: Christian Friedrich Himburg, 1775-1779.
First complete German edition of Goethe’s works, third issue, which like the slightly earlier one printed in Switzerland appeared without the author’s consent or knowledge. The publisher Himburg, proud of the aesthetic qualities of his production (notwithstanding the shoddiness of the text), which he had printed on good paper and with fine illustrations, sent Goethe some complimentary copies –the author received them with disdain and resentment. He did not reply to Himburg, but expressed such feelings in Poetry and Truth, where he cites the incident and refers to it as a ‘robbery’. Still, this edition formed the basis for the later first authorized edition, and for Goethe’s text of the famous second version of Werther. Goedeke IV/3, 3, 1, h1 and h3; Hagen 2 and 4.

A bookplate in the present copy shows it was formerly in the collection of Ernst Magnus (1873-1942). The Magnus family left Hanover in December 1935, first going to Lausanne. While in Switzerland, Ernst Magnus had to part with the paintings of his collection and his furniture in an auction sale taking place in Switzerland in May 1941. The family then tried to reach the United States but Ernst Magnus died in Cuba in December 1942. He was able to get his belongings out of Germany and in May 1941 (20-24) a sale at the Galerie Fischer in Lucerne took place where some of his property was sold under 'Mobiliar des Herrn M., Lausanne', but no books were included in the sale. Goethe’s Schriften appeared on the antiquarian market in Zurich in 2014, the same country where Ernst Magnus had to sell his paintings and furniture; it is quite possible that he also sold books during his time in Switzerland, that is to say sometime between December 1935 and May 1941.

4 volumes bound in 2, octavo (151 x 87mm). Engraved vignettes to titles, 7 engraved plates (very occasional light spotting). Contemporary speckled calf, flat spines decorated in gilt, gilt lettering-pieces (extremities a little rubbed). Provenance: several contemporary marginalia in vol. 1 - Ernst Magnus (bookplate) — Feuerbacher Heide (bookplate) — Private collection, Norway - Restituted to the heir of Ernst Magnus in 2024.
Place of origin:Western Europe, Germany, Europe
Auction house category:Books and manuscripts, Printed books
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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09.07.2025 – 09.07.2025
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феличе казорати (1883 - 1963)
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