Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
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Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $13,000
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Sold for: $27,500
Including buyer's premium
Four-page letter, hand signed by Heinrich Heine, addressed to the author, journalist, and poet, Joseph Lehmann. Paris, October 5, 1854. German.
A lengthy letter, dictated from his sickbed by Heinrich Heine to his personal secretary, roughly two years before his death. Heine’s signature – clearly written with a stiff, unsteady hand, on account of his illness – appears in the bottom margin of the last page.
The letter deals at length with the issue of Heine’s Judaism – the last known recorded discussion of its kind before his death – at a time when the writer was struggling to decide whether to publish his works through a Jewish or a Christian publisher:
"I am publishing the French version of my works through "Michel Lévy Frères" who were recommended to me as publishers. It was a choice between them and an additional publisher, formerly known as "Bonnetier", a manufacturer of cotton nightcaps; I preferred to choose them, perhaps because they are members of the Tribe of ‘Levy’.
"I believe that M. Lévy is no less honest, that he is worthy, and that I – even if I’m taking a risk – must ignore old prejudices regarding Jews. I believe that when granted an opportunity to earn money, they are grateful for it, and are less likely than their Christian counterparts to exploit one. The beliefs the Jews harbor may be misguided, but not so their conscience. This grand civilization of the heart was preserved thanks to an unbroken two-thousand-year-old tradition. I believe they managed to absorb the European culture so swiftly simply because there was nothing for them to learn from it in the realm of sensitivity… but you know all this better than me, and at best my words may serve to offer a suggestion toward an understanding of my intentions regarding my ‘Confessions’ [Heine’s autobiographical work, published the same year, which included a number of references to his own Judaism]".
In the letter Heine also speaks of his longings for Germany, and of the loneliness he feels ("With the exception of my two secretaries, who are both too honest to fall into the trap of dabbling in German gossip, I don’t get to see a single German… My wife has thrown all the Germans out of my house, some of them quite literally"); he also pokes fun at the publisher Julius Campe, who was responsible for printing Heine’s works back in Germany ("If I instruct Campe to send you [the book], it will most likely arrive along with the Messiah, seeing as he makes his way – according to the ancient tradition – on the back of a donkey, and not by train"). In addition, Heine relates to a certain individual who he claims is sabotaging his business and is allegedly hoping for his early demise ("M. Friedland… actually succeeded in dissuading my brother Gustav from looking after my business affairs, by resorting to the most devious of lies; and he makes all sorts of assumptions regarding this sickness of mine which will undoubtedly someday put an end to his doubts. But he is wrong").
The letter was evidently completed when – apparently owing to the influence of the opium he was taking – Heine’s lucidity was slipping away: "I have only a vague idea of what I am dictating at the moment – the opium has made me so numb – and so I am signing off with additional gratitude for your kindness, and with the most heartfelt wishes, Heinrich Heine".
The letter’s recipient, the poet and journalist
Joseph Lehmann (1801-1873) had been a close friend of Heinrich Heine since his days in Berlin, and toward the end of Heine’s life, his oldest surviving friend. As an editor and proofreader, Lehmann was deeply involved in the publication of Heine’s early works and was the first to attach footnotes to his poetry. Several of Heine’s works were dedicated to him.
The Michel Lévy Frères publishing house was established in Paris in 1836 by the Jewish publisher Michel Lévy (1821-1875), who was only 14 years of age at the time. He was widely regarded as one of the foremost of French publishers in the second half of the 19th century, and was responsible for printing the works of some of the greatest of France’s authors of that period, including Alexandre Dumas, Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, among others. A French edition of the "Complete Works of Heinrich Heine" ("Oeuvres complètes de Henri Heine") was published by Michel Lévy from 1855 to 1885 in a series comprising a dozen volumes.
[4] pages (sheet folded in half). Good condition. Fold lines. Minor stains and creases. Several small holes and tears to edges, repaired. Small stain of scorched ink to second leaf.
The Question of Heine’s Return to Judaism Toward the End of His Life
In the last eight years of his life, the author and poet Heinrich Heine fell ill with an incurable disease that resulted in partial paralysis and rendered him bedridden. He was beset with spasms and throbbing headaches, and his eyesight was drastically impaired. His physical limitations essentially put a halt to all his social interactions, and seriously interfered with his ability to communicate both in speech and in writing. He referred to his bedridden condition during those years as "a grave of the mattress" and termed his overall condition as "a death lacking the decent privileges of the dead". But notwithstanding his debilitating state of health, he remained remarkably lucid, and his cognitive and creative skills did not appear to have deteriorated in any measurable way.
Despite essentially being on his deathbed, he persisted in his creative functions and managed to publish what were destined to become some of his most notable works. During this period he came to rely almost entirely on his wife and personal secretary, and from his sickbed he dictated everything to them, from poetry to correspondence.
Throughout his life, Heine’s attitude toward his Jewish roots remained complex, ambivalent, and filled with internal contradictions. He was born Jewish, and received a religious Jewish education as a youngster. He converted to Christianity at the age of 27 purely for reasons of convenience, to gain social acceptance and financial security; he viewed his own conversion as "an admission ticket to European culture". Nevertheless, he never attempted to hide or deny his Jewish origins, and his complex, multi-faceted approach to Judaism was clearly enunciated in many of his works, as were his thoughts regarding the tragic fate of the Jewish people, with identity issues and irony thrown into the confusing mix.
Heine’s final days were marked by an earnest attempt on his part to connect with his Jewish identity and faith; in his last will and testament, dated 1851, he even went as far as declaring his belief in a single, personal G-d. As he put it to one of his friends: "I make no secret of my Judaism, to which I have not returned, because I never left it". This attitude is also evident in his later works, in which he attempts to contend with questions of identity, religion, freedom, and tolerance.
Appearing in these final works – especially his composition "Geständnisse" ("Confessions") – are a number of remarks and hints that point to what seems to be a renewed closeness to his Jewish faith. The issue of Heine’s religious beliefs at the very end of his life is a subject that is debated among scholars to this day.
Category
Autographs, Letters and Manuscripts, Literary Archives
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $3,000
Estimate: $5,000 - $8,000
Sold for: $3,750
Including buyer's premium
A diverse collection including letters, manuscripts of literary works, and a signed portrait photograph, by German-Jewish author Jakob Wassermann; sent to his literary agent in the United States, Nathan Ausübel. Austria (and other locations?), 1920s-30s. German.
The collection includes:
1. "Yellow Coat" (Gelbmäntelchen) – screenplay by Jakob Wassermann, typescript with handwritten notes; a story about an angel sent to Earth to touch the soul of "the most indifferent man" (the screenplay is based on Wassermann's short story "Jost", published in the anthology Der Wendekreis [Berlin, 1920]). To the best of our knowledge, this work was never filmed.
[1], 18, [2] leaves. 34 cm.
2. "The Jew as an Oriental" (Der Jude als Orientale) – essay by Jakob Wassermann, typescript, based on a letter to Martin Buber; in the essay, Wassermann addresses the question of defining Judaism, describing Eastern Jewry as a positive alternative, rooted in its origins, to European Jewry (the essay was published in the literary journal "Daimon" [Vienna 1918], alongside articles, poetry and prose excerpts by Max Brod, Ernst Weiss, Franz Werfel, and others).
5 pages. 27.5 cm.
3. Fragments from a literary work by Wassermann, in his handwriting (the novel Christian Wahnschaffe?); thirteen pages in Wassermann's small and elegant handwriting, with corrections and deletions, eight of them written in German Kurrent script, and five in regular German script (Latin letters). The fragments may be taken from the manuscript of the novel Christian Wahnschaffe (1919), mentioned in one of Wassermann's letters to his agent in the USA, featured in the present lot (the novel was published in English as The World's Illusion).
[13] leaves (numbered 156-160, 330, and 339-341; irregular pagination). Approx. 21-25 cm.
4-22. Nineteen letters by Wassermann, signed in his hand, addressed to his literary agent in the USA, Nathan Ausübel. Some are handwritten, occasionally on official letterhead. Among the topics discussed in the letters: the power of attorney Wassermann granted Ausübel for publishing his writings in the United States (July 10, 1924); the publication of the novels Das Gänsemännchen, Die Masken Erwin Reiners and Christian Wahnschaffe, by the publisher Harcourt Brace and a screenplay to be sent to Ausübel (apparently the draft screenplay in present lot, August 28, 1924); the death of Wassermann's friend, composer Ferruccio Busoni (August 28, 1924); notice of sending the proofs of the novel Faber oder die verlorenen Jahre, along with a copy of a letter sent to the publisher Harcourt Brace, and mention of Wassermann's friend, German-Jewish author Ludwig Lewisohn (September 8, 1924); an update that Wassermann received an inquiry from Fox Film studios regarding the production of a film based on one of his novellas, and negotiations with an English publisher on publishing the novel Die Juden von Zirndorf (September 18, 1924); mention of Thomas Mann and author Werner Hegemann (December 17, 1931); and more.
Number of pages varies, approx. 12-29 cm. Some letters are accompanied by the original envelope in which they were sent.
23. Portrait photograph of Jakob Wassermann, inscribed and signed by him, to Nathan Ausübel (the inscription is dated July 9, 1924, Altaussee).
Approx. 15X11 cm. Mounted on cardboard.
Jakob Wassermann (1873-1934) was one of the most important and successful German-Jewish authors of the 20th century. Born in Fürth (Bavaria) to a middle-class Jewish family. In 1897 he published his first novel, "The Jews of Zirndorf" (Die Juden von Zirndorf), which achieved immediate success and established his reputation in Germany as a promising author. Among his notable works: "The Maurizius Case" (Der Fall Maurizius), "Caspar Hauser" and "The Goose Man" (Das Gänsemännchen). In 1921 he published his book "My Path as a German and a Jew" (Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude), in which he directly confronted the conflict between his identity as a German and his Jewish cultural heritage.
Despite his literary success, Wassermann suffered from the growing antisemitism in Germany. With the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933, he was expelled from the Prussian Academy of Arts, his books were placed on the "black list" and banned from publication in Germany, and many copies were burned in book burnings. Wassermann died in 1934 in the villa where he resided in Altaussee, Austria.
Condition varies.
Provenance: Sotheby's, London, April 1982, Lot 496.
Category
Autographs, Letters and Manuscripts, Literary Archives
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $2,500
Estimate: $6,000 - $10,000
Sold for: $5,500
Including buyer's premium
Collection of letters, handwritten and personally signed or stamped by Yiddish author Sholem Aleichem (Sholem Rabinovich), and an assemblage of cards, leaflets, and notices. Europe (one letter from New York), early decades of the 20th century. Yiddish and German.
Included in the collection:
1-7: Seven letters handwritten by Sholem Aleichem, in beautifully eloquent Yiddish, bearing his distinctively handsome style of handwriting. Addressed to his friend M. Hammer of Vienna, who produced rubber stamps (incl. Sholem Aleichem’s own, personal rubber stamp). Hammer was a member of several Viennese organizations that acted on behalf of the Jews of Galicia (southeastern Poland and southwestern Ukraine of today). Most of the letters were sent between March and May of 1906, while Sholem Aleichem was conducting a lecture tour, visiting various European cities. The letters deal with preparations for an evening in Vienna of readings of his stories, on behalf of Jewish refugees from Russia; in the margins of two of these letters, Sholem Aleichem writes out (by hand) his proposed program for the evening of storytelling; the collection also includes a printed leaflet/program bearing the final version of the sequence of the evening’s events. Some of the issues addressed by Sholem Aleichem in the present collection of letters are summarized in the following excerpts from the text:
"I have more faith in a "meshumed" [derogatory Yiddish term for a convert from Judaism, usually to Christianity] than I have in a rabbi. And especially the type of "meshumed" who devotes himself to [the cause of assisting] Jews. But I fear the entire affair in Vienna will be superfluous. What if Heaven forbid there’s no audience for me in Vienna?"; "There is no cure for assimilation… Only if you think Vienna is big enough that a number of folks with some connection to Sholem Aleichem could be found [there]… So it would be good to hold this evening [gathering] on the last day of Passover… I was thinking, rather than creating a big hullabaloo, it would be far preferable to restrict the evening [gathering] to a limited group and under appropriate circumstances. The smaller the audience, the more joyful the feast"; "I received a telegram today from the city of Lemberg [Lvov, Lviv] with only three words: Come [to] Vienna [on] Thursday… I’m here in Romania until May 3, the ‘world’ won’t leave me alone…" "I arrived fully enchanted from Switzerland. God Almighty! The same Lord who created the Kasrilevka of Russia also created the Bern and Zurich of Switzerland. A Divine wonder!" (from the Yiddish).
In some of the letters, Sholem Aleichem relates to the personal rubber stamp Hammer made for him, modeled after the author’s personal hand signature (the inked stamps made with this rubber stamp appear numerous times on the letters themselves):
"When I look at it, I can [easily] be mistaken and think that this is my own [hand] signature… The black ink is good…"; "Your Sholem Aleichem was stolen from me in Bukovina! I fear that Heaven forbid there will now be two ‘Sholem Aleichem’s. He [the ‘other’ Sholem Aleichem] will mark [a document] with your rubber stamp and say: ‘See here, whose signature is this?’ I’ll be forced to provide evidence that I am the real Sholem Aleichem, and that the ‘other’ Sholem Aleichem is [nothing more than] Hammer’s artistic creation! But who will ever believe me?" (from the Yiddish).
One of the letters in the collection dates to a later period, specifically 1913 (written on the official stationery of the hotel in the Italian fishing village and seaside resort of Nervi, near Genoa); here, Sholem Aleichem informs his friend M. Hammer of Vienna regarding his failing health.
8-10: Three printed leaflets concerning the evening dedicated to Sholem Aleichem’s storytelling, which finally takes place on May 5, 1906, in the grand ballroom of Vienna’s Continental Hotel: a neatly organized program listing the evening’s events and the works to be read out loud as the main feature, and two different promotional leaflets issued by the organizing committee (M. Hammer’s name appears on both leaflets – he is identified as one of the member of the committee, and as the address for purchasing cards; and on one of the leaflets, the names of the eight men and more than 40 women on the organizing committee are listed; the addresses in Vienna of all the women on the list are given next to their names, in handwriting). Vienna, [1906]. German.
11. Undated, unsigned, and unaddressed letter; based on its content, it can be assumed to have been written by M. Hammer, Vienna, and sent to Sholem Aleichem. The letter deals with Sholem Aleichem’s anticipated visit to Vienna, and for the evening of storytelling on behalf of Jewish emigrants and refugees from Russia. At the end of the letter, the writer relates to the incident involving the theft of the rubber stamp in Bukovina. [Vienna, 1906]. Yiddish.
12. Sholem Aleichem’s personal business card, printed in London.
13-14: Two mailing envelopes bearing the handwritten name and address (in Vienna) of "M. Hammer"; one envelope was sent from Lvov (Lviv) in 1906, and the other, dated 1907, from New York.
Varying sizes and condition. Overall good condition.
Enclosed: • A public appeal in German titled "Ausruf der galiz. Juden aus Wien" – a call to Jews originating from Galicia and currently residing in Vienna to support the candidacy of Nathan Birnbaum in elections to the Austrian parliament as the representative of the eastern Galician constituency which includes the cities and towns of Buchach, Sniatyn, Zalishchyky, Tlumach, and Borszczów (Borshchiv) [Vienna, 1907]. At the bottom of the page is a list of the names of members of the Committee of Jews from Galicia Residing in Vienna; among these names is M. Hammer (on the side of the page, it is stated tat M. Hammer is in possession of some 3,000 original signatures from Jews originating from Galicia and currently residing in Vienna). • A notice issued by the Viennese journal "Jüdische Abende" (lit. "Jewish Evenings"): an invitation to participate in a third evening of readings of works selected from the body of Yiddish literature (again, the name "M. Hammer" appears here among the members of the evening’s organizing committee). Vienna: Ignaz Spitz, printer, [early 20th century]. • Two Yiddish newspaper clippings reporting on Sholem Aleichem’s visit to the United States.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.
Category
Autographs, Letters and Manuscripts, Literary Archives
Catalogue
Auction 99 Part 2 Rare and Important Items
Nov 5, 2024
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $7,500
Including buyer's premium
Some 250 letters, manuscripts and paper items from the estate of writer and editor Yaakov Horowitz. Palestine and Europe, 1920s-1970s. German, Hebrew and some Yiddish.
A diverse archive documenting the work of writer and literary editor Yaakov Horowitz (1901-1975), close friend of poets Nathan Alterman and Avraham Shlonsky, who founded, edited and regularly participated in many of the literary groups active in Palestine – "Ketuvim", "Turim", "Yachdav", "Sadan", and others.
The archive contains letters, stories and various articles – some in manuscript form, some in various editing stages, and some prepared for their first appearance in print.
Among the items:
• Two letters signed by Stefan Zweig, to Yaakov Horowitz – one with an interesting reference to the rise of right-wing circles in Berlin, the staging of Zweig's play "Jeremiah" in Palestine, and the translation of Zweig's works into Hebrew. Salzburg, June and September 1930 (German).
• The manuscript of Avraham Shlonsky's book "Ani VeTali, O Sefer MeEretz HaLamah" – fifty-nine pages in Shlonsky's handwriting, containing the book's poems with deleted and replaced lines and stanzas, markings, corrections and various notes. One page features a small illustration ("Sad Uncle"). The manuscript is signed by Shlonsky on the last page.
• A poem, typewritten and hand-vocalized, by Nathan Alterman to Yaakov Horowitz (apparently, a version prepared for printing; ca. 1940).
• About 20 letters from members of the "Ketuvim" literary group – Avraham Shlonsky, Israel Zmora, Eliezer Steinman, Mordechai Avi-Shaul, Yitzhak Norman, and others. Most letters are written by more than one author (sometimes four or five), and are composed in an informal, wild and humorous manner – "Shlonsky forgot to sign his name so I'm signing for him, A. Shlonsky" (in Shlonsky's handwriting); "If we meet abroad it will surely be a rather interesting meeting: almost like two ships at sea or two camels in the desert"; and more. One letter is entirely written in the form of a rhymed and vocalized poem (by Shlonsky).
• Catalogue of the "Machbarot LeSifrut" publishing house for 1958, with notes containing memories and comments in the handwriting of the founder, Israel Zmora: receiving Nathan Alterman's first poem and the decision to print it ("BeShetef Ir"), a visit to Asher Barash's home, thoughts on the poetry of Avraham Shlonsky and Uri Zvi Greenberg, and more.
• Dozens of letters from family members and acquaintances, including Arnold Zweig, Nachum Gutman, Moshe Spitzer, Hannah Rivkin-Brick, and others (most letters sent by family members).
• About 40 manuscripts and copies of stories and articles by Yaakov Horowitz (Hebrew; most in more than one copy): "Al Sefel Pakua shel Te", "HaSeret HaKatom SheBaMetzach", "HaNasich HaYarok", "Yakobovsky VeHaMefaked" (full manuscript for a translation of a play by Franz Werfel), and more.
• Offprints, proof sheets, issues of "Ketuvim" journal, official letterheads of literary and art groups ("Sadan", "HaTeatron HaAmanuti", "Ketuvim"), photographs, and more.
Size and condition vary.
Enclosed are numerous newspaper issues and clippings.
Category
Autographs, Letters and Manuscripts, Literary Archives
Catalogue