Rahel. Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde
Berlin: Self-published (Privatdruck, printed by Trowitsch & Sohn), 1833. TRUE first edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 608pp. Green cloth, black leather title-label with decorative gold border and gold lettering. Binding protected by modern mylar. Frontispiece of Rahel, engraved by C. E. Weber. Four lines of Rahel's handwriting in facsimile below engraving. Title-page printed in red and black. Rare edition with a collection of printed letters, excepts from diaries, notes & correspondences by German-Jewish writer & socialite, Rahel Antonie Friederike Varnhagen von Else, formerly Rahel Levin (1771-1833). Fifty page section in first part of book by Rahel's husband, Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, who self-published this work in a limited edition for close friends. He writes about his first encounter with Rahel, his life and experiences with his wife, as well as her early death in 1833, at the age of 62. Rahel came from a well-to-do Berlin Jewish family. During the late 18th and early 19th century she was a preeminent literary hostess in Berlin at one of the most prominent salons in Europe. Many of her popular soirées were attended by the Romantics writers of the period. She briefly lost her fortune in 1806, but after meeting and marrying Prussian diplomat K. A. Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel's salon once again became the most notable social focus of Berlin literary life and was frequented by the likes of Heinrich Heine, Alexander von Humboldt, F. de la Motte Foqué, A. Von Chamisso, Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich Gentz, Schlegel, and others. Text in German, gothic script. Some age wear and heavy staining on binding. Head and tail of spine chipped. Faded green page edges. Foxing on first few leaves, incl. frontispiece, title-page and on few pages throughout. Small closed tear along gutter on page 591. Binding in fair, interior in overall very good condition. (Goedecke VI, 185,6; Brieger 2396). This self-published 'Privatdruck' by K. A. Varnhagen von Ense which was presented to friends and not offered for sale. A three volume edition for the general public was published a year later by Duncker and Humblot. g. Item #24958
Price: $2,500.00