About this Item
This is the 1929 photographic facsimile, published by Albert Frische, of the hand-written manuscript for the Romantic Tragedy, "Emilia Galotti' by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, the famous 18th century man of letters. "Emilia Galotti", first published in 1772, is a 'bourgeois tragedy' ('bürgerliches Trauerspiel'). In it Lessing attacked the nobility, who abused all who they deemed socially lower than them, while they themselves remained essentially untouchable. They could, and did get away with murder and other crimes. With its theme of thwarted love, murder through henchmen, and family drama, this play was an early treatment of the then rising middle class. Most of the world experienced the 'tyranny of the ruling class', but Lessig was one of the few who, at that time, dared to state it in a world intended for public production. ********************************** Just a note: In Goethe's great tragic novel, "The Sorrows of Young Werther", we find in the death scene of the protagonist, that Goethe has a copy of Lessing's "Emilia Galotti" laying next to the death bed. It is obvious from the text that Werther had just been reading the book. ********************************** The cover of this 1929 facsimile suffers from the poor quality of paper that was so commonly used in Germany at that time. The front cover is detached and the rear cover's attachment is tenuous. Both front and rear covers are much chipped and torn about the edges. The interior is clean and presentable , with no marking. The final page of the book is a page-length statement by the publisher about the play and presenting the details of the book's imprint. This page is printed in old German black - letter font. ********************************** TITLE : Emilia Galotti (Photographic, Machine-Produced Facsimile of the original handwritten manuscript) / AUTHOR : Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729 1781) / IMPRINT : Albert Frische / PLACE : Berlin / DATE : January 23, 1929 / EDITION : Facsimile Reprint / PHYSICAL DETAILS : Cover mostly detached - Photographic facsimile; 59 pages; approximately 6 1/4" x 9 3/8" ; stiff card stock covers; facsimile reproduction printed on matte-textured, fairly stiff paper. *********************************** CONDITION - GOOD ONLY - Cover is mostly detached (front is fully detached) - edges of cover display considerable chipping, loss and tears. Interior leaves are clean and presentable with near-negligible signs of wear. The discoloration at the bottom of our picture is a result of our photo process, not in the book. I could not get a picture without it. Seller Inventory # 1846
Contact seller
Report this item
