[Thuroczy, Janos]. Der Hungern Chronica inhaltend wie sie anfengklich ins land kommen sind, …Vienna, 1534.

A very well preserved copy of the popular "Chronicle of the Hungarians", the most prominent work of late medieval Hungarian historiography and an important example of medieval chronicle writing. Janos Thuroczy (ca. 1435-88) was the first layman to compose a chronicle on Hungarian history. Originally published in Latin in 1488, this first German edition was translated by Hans Haug zum Freystein and contains all five books of the chronicle in a single volume. Provides detailed descriptions of the events in the territories of modern Hungary, starting with the uprising of the Huns in 373 A.D. and ending with the death of King Louis II of Hungary in the battle of Mohács against the Ottomans in 1526, including accounts of Saint Stephen, the first king of Hungary, and of the turbulent infant coronation of Ladislaus Postumus in 1440, with more general notes on the Hungarian coronation ceremony.

Handwritten ownership "Alfred Graf Hirmayer" on title-page. Some margins repaired, slightly waterstained and fingerstained, otherwise well preserved. From the library of the Viennese collector Werner Habel, with his ownership stamp to flyleaf (his note of acquisition from 1977 is loosely inserted).

Beethoven, Ludwig van, composer (1770-1827). Autograph letter signed ("Beethoven").Vienna, 23 Mar 1812.

To the Viennese civil servant Franz Rettich (1768-1818), who was to help Beethoven send urgently needed scores to Graz for a charity concert on March 29th, only six days hence:

"Es dürften bis Morgen abend wohl sicher noch die 2 overturen folgen, und so wird Ihnen geholfen, jedoch mit der äußersten Anstrengung. Schreiben Sie nur gefälligst, daß man in Graz sicher alles erwartete erhalte, jedoch muß man sich im Voraus gefaßt machen zur Probe, da die Sachen mit dem Postwagen zwar nicht zu spät, aber doch auch nur eben zur rechten Zeit ankommen werden [...]" ("The two overtures ought quite certainly to follow by tomorrow evening, and so you shall be accommodated, but only thanks to the greatest exertions. Just kindly write that everything expected in Graz will dependably be received, but everyone must prepare for the rehearsal in advance, as the things will arrive by stagecoach, not indeed too late, but still only just in time [...]").

In summer 1811 Beethoven had met the civil servant and patron of Graz, Joseph von Varena (1769-1843), who had persuaded the composer to support his charity concerts with music. Beethoven was enthusiastic and in late January 1812 promised Varena several pieces, including the overtures of "King Stephen" (op. 117) and "The Ruins of Athens" (op. 113), both of which were already intended for the inauguration of the German theatre in Pest on 9 February and were therefore in Hungary at the time of writing. Franz Rettich, secretary at the Superior Court of Justice in Vienna, was chosen to act as intermediary and messenger. (The father of the actor Karl Rettich, he had himself been a supporting actor at Vienna's court theatre between 1789 and 1797 before entering the civil service.) - In fact, the timing turned out to be extremely tight, as Beethoven's copyist Wenzel Schlemmer, the only man the composer would trust with the job, had fallen ill. In his present note to Rettich, Beethoven promises that the work will be finished in time, but warns that the orchestra in Graz will have very little opportunity to rehearse. Anxious to keep his word, Beethoven even forced Schlemmer to sign a declaration that he would complete the copies by March 26, noon - a pledge he would prove unable to keep. Ultimately, the copies were finished too late to go to Graz with Rettich by regular stagecoach and had to be sent by special courier, whom Rettich paid 21 guilders for the service, arriving at high noon on the day of the concert. The programme began at 6:30 that evening with a (very probably unrehearsed) performance of the "King Stephen" overture, but the overture from "The Ruins of Athens" had to be skipped. Still, the concert played an important role in making Beethoven known in Styria: "Varena, an ally from the very beginning, contributed much to that important first boost which launched a serious and lasting reception of Beethoven's works outside Vienna, enriching the musical life of Graz and amplifying with remarkable swiftness the structure of local concert programmes in the 19th century" (cf. Nemeth, p. 29).

Traces of original vertical and horizontals folds; in excellent condition. On the verso, Rettich has certified the receipt: "This message was written to me and I received it on March 23."

Eccleston, John. Jerusalem Photographic Album.Newark, NJ, 1865.

An extremely rare photographic work, unrecorded in the major scholarly studies of early photography in the Holy Land.

According to the introductory text, "In the winter of 1859 the King of Prussia sent an artist to the Holy Land to procure views for his portfolio. Having reached Jerusalem, whilst the Royal commission was being executed, I was so fortunate as to secure (through the courtesy of Right Reverend Samuel Gobat, of the Anglican and Prussian mission) fine impressions from the most valuable of these negatives [...] they are now published, at the request of many persons [...]". Eccleston was an Anglican minister in Newark, New Jersey.

A gilt frame surrounds each photograph, beneath which is the title of the plate and two columns of letterpress text within a decorative type-ornament border. The titles of the plates are: Garden of Gethsemane; Damascus Gate; Jew's Waling Place; Church of Holy Sepulchre; Mosk El-Aksa / Solomon's Bridge; Valley of the Son of Hinnom; St. Stephen's Gate; Golden Gate; Top View of Jerusalem; Bethany; Via Dolorosa and Ecce Homo Arch; Mount Moriah and the Mosque of Omar.

We have been unable to identify the photographer, as the work is unrecorded by the leading authorities on early photography in the Holy Land, and the photographs themselves do not appear in any of the other known photographic albums of the period. Both Eyal Onne, "Photographic Heritage of the Holy Land 1839-1914" (Manchester 1980), and Yeshayahu Nir, "The Bible and the Image" (Philadelphia 1985), record in considerable detail the early missions to the Holy Land and the photographers who either accompanied these missions or who were living in the Holy Land and were retained by the missions. In neither work is the king of Prussia's mission recorded, nor is "Jerusalem Photographic Album" recorded in either bibliography of early photographic works on the Holy Land. Similarly, the recent book, "Revealing the Holy Land: The Photographic Exploration of Palestine" by Kathleen Stewart Howe (1997) records neither Eccleston's book nor these photographs.

Though seemingly unknown to scholars working in the field, two copies of Eccleston's book are indeed known: the NUC and RLIN both record one copy, at Yale, and OCLC locates a second copy at the University of Texas. Our copy was given by Eccleston, probably soon after publication, to his local library company; in the 1880s the library company was absorbed by a newly-created public library, from which it was purchased.

Beethoven, Ludwig van, composer (1770-1827). Autograph sketchleaf to op. 117, "König Stephan" ("Ungarns erster Wohltäter").Teplitz, 1811.

A densely-used two-sided autograph sketchleaf containing music to opus 117, "König Stephan" or "Ungarns erster Wohltäter" ("Hungary's first Benefactor"), the front showing, among other motifs, the opening cello/bassoon line for the beginning of the first movement chorus, "Ruhend von seinen Thaten" (Andante maestoso e con moto, C major), and the verso with material from the end of the movement, all over with various freely written passages in ink and pencil, mostly on single staves, some with text underneath, containing many holograph corrections and instances where ink is written over pencil.

The present sketchleaf, apparently hitherto unknown to scholarship, belongs to a book of sketches that Beethoven used while writing his stage music "König Stephan" in 1811. Beethoven created his own book from various paper on hand and used it while at the spa in Teplitz from late 1810 into mid 1811. He finished "König Stephan" between 20 August and mid-September 1811. The sketches are of the first chorus (after the overture). The musical play was commissioned for the opening of the new theatre in Pest along with "The Ruins of Athens". First performed on 9 February 1812, it was published as op. 117. King Stephen I founded Hungary in 1000. Emperor Francis I of Austria commissioned the new theatre, and Beethoven was chosen as the composer to honour the occasion of the opening. The Austrian Emperor was honouring Hungary's loyalty, thus the subject matter on a text by August von Kotzebue.

The Beethoven-Haus in Bonn holds four other sketches from this sketchbook (viewable in their digital online archive, as entries HCB Bsk 2/50, 3/51, 4/52, and Mh 81), all of which share the same three holes punched on the left-side margin of the present sketch. We would like to thank Dr. Carmelo Comberiati, professor of Music History at Manhattanville College, for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.

Provenance: Friedrich Wilhelm Künzel, Leipzig, before 1886; Collection of Fred M. Steele, Chicago, purchased from the above, 1886. Offered in the "Collection of Important Autographs in the estate of Mrs. Ella P. Steele, widow of Mr. Fred M. Steele" (Philadelphia, 1918). Acquired from the purchaser's descendants, last located in Greenwich, CT.

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, Archduchess of Austria (1755-1793). Devotional miniature with autograph inscription signed on verso, with eight …No place, 1743-1770.

A collection of devotional miniatures of outstanding quality, with dedications to countess Maria Anna von Callenberg, née countess Thurn-Valsassina (1721-86), first lady-in-waiting to Empress Elizabeth Christina, mother of Maria Theresa and since 1757 married to general Karl Kurt Reinicke, count Callenberg. Five of the nine miniatures are by daughters of Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I (thus uniting five out of eight princesses that survived infancy), one by a sister of Maria Theresa, another by the youngest sister of Francis I, yet another by the Imperial couble's daughter-in-law, and one by an unidentified writer. A scholarly study of the album, published in 1999 (cf. the sources below), praises the "outstanding graphic quality" of the miniatures, arguing that they must have been created by "professionally trained artists" (cf. Feldhaus, p. 19).

All inscriptions are in French or German; they include: 1) St. Cajetan (S. Cajetanus Thieneus), 3-line inscription signed by Archduchess Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (1746-1804), dated 1769.

2) Charles Borromeo (S. Carolus Borromaeus), 6-line inscription signed by Archduchess Maria Anna (1718-1744), sister of Maria Theresa, dated 1743.

3) St. Jerome (S. Hieronimus), 6-line inscription signed by Archduchess Maria Josepha (1751-67), dated 1767.

4) Mother of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa), 4-line inscription signed by Princess Anne Charlotte of Lorraine (1714-73), youngest sister of Emperor Francis I; undated.

5) The Virgin and Child ("Du Königin des guten Raths bitt für uns"), 5-line inscription signed by Maria Theresa's eldest daughter, Archduchess Maria Anna (1738-89), dated 1757.

6) King Stephen I of Hungary (S. Stephanus Rex Hung.), 5-line inscription signed by Maria Luisa of Spain (1745-1792), Grand Duchess of Tuscany and later Empress as the spouse of Leopold II; dated 1770.

7) St. Expeditus (S. Expeditus), signed by Archduchess Maria Elisabeth (1743-1808), undated.

8) St. Aloysius Gonzaga (S. Aloysius Gonzaga S. I.), 3-line inscription signed by Archduchess Marie Antoinette ("Auspice Deo. En regardant cette image souvenez vous toujours chère Callenberg de Votre très affectioner Antoine Archiduchesse"), dated 29 March 1770, but a month before her fateful departure for France.

9) Man of Sorrows (Wahre Abbildung des schmerzhaften Heilands auf dem S. Stephansfriedhof), 2-line inscription, undated and unsigned, ascribed to Charlotte von Reischach, lady-in-waiting, by the included index (4to, 4 pp.).

Provenance: count Carl Callenberg (d. 1820), son of the recipient of these dedications; by descent to her daughter Henriette, the last countess of Callenberg (1764-1835), married in 1787 to count Johann Mittrowsky (1757-99), army surgeon to count Lássy's Infantry Regiment; by descent to the counts Mittrowsky; later in the library of the Austrian collector and Keeper of the Purse, count Franz Folliot de Crenneville-Poutet (1815-88), with his collection stamp on fol. 1; sold through the Vienna art trade to a Rhenish private collection in 1969.

[Biblia germanica - NT]. Luther, Martin. Das Newe Testament Mar. Luthers.Wittenberg, 1530.

Exceptionally rare impression of Luther's New Testament in German, the original edition of the last text he issued before incorporating it into his first complete German Bible of 1534. Luther's first edition of the German New Testament, famously published in September 1522, had been a single-handed effort, the work of no more than eleven intensely laborious weeks which he had spent in hiding at the Wartburg. An expensive folio production, it nevertheless sold out in less than three months. During the following years Luther had moved on to tackle various books of the Old Testament, for the preparation of which he employed the help and advice of several friends whose knowledge of Hebrew he felt to be superior. In 1529 however, as part of his work towards a complete German Bible, he meticulously revised (with the support of Melanchthon) his earlier version of the New Testament, and the present edition went forth at Frankfurt's 1530 Easter Book Fair. For the first time it appeared in the pocket-size octavo format, containing several new woodcuts by Georg Lemberger which maintained the style of the Lucas Cranach illustrations. Notably, the woodcut of St. Matthew is a portrait of Luther himself. The 25th illustration of the Apocalypse introduces a surprisingly topical slant, picturing Gog and Magog as the Turkish army which had besieged Vienna the previous year: St. Stephen's Cathedral is clearly visible, and the city wall bears the inscription "Wien", lest even the most obtuse of readers miss the point (indeed, a marginal note in the text opposite spells out the identification). As for the edition's textual changes, "the improvements were grammatical, syntactical, and stylistic in nature, but often were also theologically motivated. In particular, the changes to the prefaces are of theological importance: Luther expanded the prologue to the First Epistle to the Corinthians; the Revelation's introduction was expanded eightfold and given a wholly new character, which was now closer to a true commentary - or rather to a polemic which drew its incisiveness from its capacity to bring up to date the interpretation of the Holy Scripture" (cf. Reinitzer, p. 153). Luther's translation "was of vital importance to the progress of the Reformation, giving a new impetus to the study of the scriptures in the vernacular all over Europe. It also was to have as profound an influence on the development of the German language as the King James Bible later had on English" (PMM 51). The verso of the title page bears Luther's sardonic warning to piratical printers and competing translators: "I beg all my friends and foes, my masters, printers, and readers, let this New Testament be mine. If they lack one, let them make one for themselves. I know full well what I am doing, as I am well aware of what others are doing, but this Testament shall be Luther's German Testament; for there is not measure nor end to fault-finding and second-guessing." The demand for the book proved enormous: by the time Luther's German Bible was published in 1534, over 80 editions of his New Testament had appeared, and by the time of his death the reprints numbered at least 330. Even the original 1530 Testament exists in two collations with three different title pages, all equally rare: earlier that the same year, the printer Lufft had produced a 412-leaf Testament with a significantly narrower printed space, which he then reissued with a changed title woodcut. The title page of the present, final variant, re-set with a wider printed space and a title border showing tendril-entwined columns at the sides and medallions at the top and bottom, is the one pictured in Reinitzer (fig. 81).

Insignificant browning and occasional light fingerstaining, with a few 17th or 18th century underlinings in brown crayon and occasional annotations in an early 18th century hand. The first of the final endpapers has writing on both sides, containing diary entries for the years 1731 to 1733. These notes (by one Johann Georg Rüger from Zell near Schweinfurt in Lower Franconia) are not without interest, as they record events such as the writer's unexpected assistance at a birth ("Heut tato den 17 Junii 1731 hab ich in schwein furth Ein Kint müsen heben, Martin Albrecht, ich Johann Georg Rüger"), the burial of the local shepherd (noting the pallbearers by name, as well as the passage from the Epistle to the Romans read at the funeral), or the transferral of the local priest and the arrival of the new one (noting the passage from the Acts of the Apostles read by Pastor Johann Englert at the investiture, as well as the writer's own participation in the ceremony as a trumpeter). A later pencil ownership ("Johann Valentin Hoffman 1779") in an uneducated hand on the verso of the final index leaf opposite.

No copy in auction records since 1950. VD 16 lists only two copies in libraries (Coburg and Wolfenbüttel), to which Pietsch adds a copy in Bamberg, as well as incomplete copies in Berlin and Hamburg.