16 February 2011
Autograph documents of important persons belong to the treasures of our cultural tradition. Particularly manuscripts of musicians and in top priority those of Ludwig van Beethoven have an excellent appreciation.
The Cologne auction house Venator & Hanstein is able to offer two rare manuscripts of Beethoven from private property in its next sale on 25 March. The first is a part of Beethoven’s setting of Goethe’s poem «Neue Liebe, neues Leben» (WoO 127), composed in 1798/99. The second manuscript, probably written about 1817, is a memo comprising six notes on errands to run in Vienna. The notes enclose a metronome, a straight razor, a lighting machine, a mousetrap and soap. Last point is a «BücherMaschin» (Book machine) to collect from the house of his late brother Caspar Carl, probably being an instrument for learning to read. This object may be associated with Beethoven’s educational efforts to his nine-year-old nephew Karl, whose guardianship the composer had achieved.