Kaaterskill Books

[Goethe] Gersdorff, Ernst August von; Gersdorff, Carl von.

[Manuscript Archive] Letters by Gersdorff & His Grandson concerning Goethe and Family.

1834 & 1891. 44 pp. Item #44984

In the last decade of the 19th century Lily Braun, feminist and writer, was beginning her research on Weimar in Goethe's era and her family's relationship to Goethe and Napoleon, which would become her book about her grandmother, "Im Schatten der Titanen" (1908). But in 1891, the time of the letters written to her by her uncle, Carl von Gersdorff, she was just beginning to uncover the relationship between her great uncle, Ernst Christian August von Gersdorff (1781-1852), Minister of State for Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach from 1819 to 1848 and a participant in the Vienna Congress, and Goethe.

The first set of manuscripts, in Ernst Christian August von Gersdorff's hand, are a long letter to his daughter, and some spiritual notes. The second set of manuscripts, in Carl von Gersdorff's hand, are copies of private letters between Goethe and Ernst August von Gersdorff, from 1822 and 1830; and the last set of manuscripts, are letters from Carl von Gersdorff to Lily Braun concerning this material.
1. Gersdorff, Ernst August von. [ALS.] Letter to his Daughter, Cecilie. Weimar, 31 July, 1834. 12 pp. on 3 bifolium. 21 x 26 cm. Signed Ernst von Gersdorff. Advice to a young daughter of eleven.
2. Gersdorff, Ernst August von. [AMS beginning] "Menscherfassung ist alles, was unter den Menschen Gottes ist". Weimar, 17 December, 1834. 1 pp. 21 x 26 cm. Signed Gersdorff. Mystical meditations on God.
3. [Gersdorff, Ernst August von]. [Autograph Manuscript beginning] "Wesen der Wesen! Unbegriffen, ewig!." Undated. Unsigned. 3 pp on bifolium. 21 x 26 cm. Mystical meditations on God.
4. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. [Manuscript Copy] Four Letters to Ernst August von Gersdorff. 14 x 22 cm. 2 bifolium. Copied 1891. Current Affairs.
4.1. Weimar, 3 Sept. 1830. 3 pp.
4.2. Weimar, 7 Sept. 1830. 1 pp.
4.3. Weimar, 9 Sept. 1830. 1 pp.
4.4 Weimar, 12 Sept. 1830. 1 pp.
5. Gersdorff, Carl von. [Manuscripts] Copies of Correspondence between Goethe and Ernst August von Gersdorff mainly in 1822 with Commentary by Carl von Gersdorff. 7 pp. on 3 bifolium. 14 x 22 cm. April 20th, 6. Gersdorff, Carl von. [ALS] Four Letters to Lily Braun his Niece.
5.1. Ostrichen, 12 January 1891. 4 pp. 14 x 22 cm.
5.2. Ostrichen, 15 January 1891. 4 pp. 14 x 22 cm.
5.3. Ostrichen, 23 March 1891. 4 pp. 14 x 22 cm.
5.4. Ostrichen, 17 May 1891. 4 pp. 14 x 22 cm.

Some excerpts:
Gersdorff to his daughter: "all I wish is that you may continue, yes, persevere to walk on the righteous path of moral perfection. May the spirit of genuine and pure religiosity, which is in the soul of the ladies to whom your education is entrusted spread its influence upon you, too....I have written to you at length now about these serious things, thus proving to you that I think you are capable of understanding. Reflect on it, read it again and again because you can’t grasp it all at first. But after reading and considering it repeatedly, it will become clear, and once clear, it will become useful. Our days here are very quiet. The Duke is in Karlsbad; the Duchess in Kissingen, and we’ve been jolted out of the peace only for a moment by the arrival of the crown prince of Württemberg. He is a young man, 11-years old, who came to visit our heir apparent the young duke..."

Goethe on the French Revolution: "The more these wondrous events get entangled and the fire that was started in France not so much spreads as it leaps over ruinously, I cannot help but recall Canning’s statement that seemed at the time outrageous, predicting that all it would take was an incitement and the whole north would erupt in revolution. With all this in mind, I am grateful for your kindness in sharing current information and your insight with me."

Goethe writes about von Gersdorff's translation: "Thanks to you, the beautiful spring days have been most pleasant and brought me rare enjoyment. For I am sorry to confess that in recent times, blocked by distractions of life and literature, I had lost my closeness to Sophocles, the great master of my younger years. But now, your conveyance allows me to enjoy him once again in my own language, without impediment,..."

Letters to Lily Braun: "Contained in the estate of my grandfather: A blue cardboard folder, upper right corner: Goethe In the middle, on a white label, the following words of my grandfather: Handwritten letter by the famous Herrn v. Goethe Excell. to Herrn v. Gersdorff who had sent him his translation of Sophocles’ Philoctetes. April 182 Goethe’s letter is in an envelope addressed in Goethe’s hand. Of the real Privy Council and Minister of State Baron von Gersdorff The Councilor’s Falcon Order’s Big Cross Sealed with Goethe’s hand seal "

"I am happy that you are determined to be thorough, which is why I am sorry that, other than the copy concerning Philoctetes that I already sent you, I cannot make my grandfather’s letters to Goethe available to you, for the simple reason that I don’t own them, - ...and you know the saying, “ a scoundrel who gives more than he has.... There are just a few sheets with political notes which he sent Goethe to read. But they cannot be considered letters to Goethe. But if you are interested in reading these ‘politica’, I am more than happy to send them to you."

Price: $3,000.00