The Collection spans more than two hundred years of Beethoven publications from the late 1700s to the present day. The 4,500 items include volumes on Beethoven’s life and works, numerous essays, scores, facsimile editions, magazines, periodicals, newspapers, and other material from all over the world. Given the vastness of the collection, we only highlight a few examples that are significant in terms of both their content and aesthetics. We start with a number of historic first editions written by acquaintances of the composer. We then continue with a selection of editions that not only feature important historical content but also demonstrate the extraordinary heights of book art in the Romantic, Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
After the Second World War, there was a drastic move away from originality and quality and an era of large-scale distribution began with print runs in the thousands focused almost entirely on content.
Today, the physical “book” has been downsized (along with bookshops) and so, consequently, has the pleasure of seeing and touching a cover with its artistic qualities, gold and embossed decorations and lettering, gilt edges, fine paper…
For these reasons and because of our love of books in general, we set ourselves the goal of preserving at least one original first edition copy in our library, in good condition and with the original publisher’s presentation. Our focus has been on historic, valuable, autographed, numbered and luxury editions.
zoom_inFIRST BIOGRAPHIES FROM THE 1800s
JOHANN ALOYS SCHLOSSER, *Meßkirch, 1785 – †Augsburg, 1857 or 1858. Ludwig van Beethoven's Biographie, Prague, Stephani und Schlosser, 1828, 1st edition, original paperback. First printed book on Beethoven, published in September 1827, shortly after the composer’s death.
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FRANZ GERHARD WEGELER, Beethoven’s physician and friend, *Bonn, 22 August 1765 – †Coblenz, 5 July 1848.
FERDINAND RIES, *Bonn, 28 November 1784 – †Frankfurt am Main, 13 January 1838. Biographische Notizen über Ludwig van Beethoven, Koblenz, Bädeker, 1st edition, 1838.
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ANTON FELIX SCHINDLER, *Medlov, Moravia, 13 June 1795 – †Bokenheim, Frankfurt am Main, 16 January 1864. Biographie von Ludwig van Beethoven, Münster, Aschendorff Buchhandlund, 1840, 1st edition, 296 pages.
An important but not always reliable biography written by Beethoven’s assistant.
zoom_inzoom_inFIRST BIOGRAPHIES FROM THE 1800s Studii di Beethoven ossia trattato d'armonia e di composizione, first Italian version with notes by FETIS AND ROSSI, Milan, Giovanni Canti, 1855, two volumes, 386 pages in total.
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GERHARD VON BREUNING, Austrian physician and researcher, *Vienna, 28 August 1813 – †Vienna, 6 May 1892. Aus dem Schwarzspanierhause: Erinnerungen an L. van Beethoven aus meiner Jugendzeit. Vienna, L. Rosner, 1874, 1st edition, VIII–129 pages.
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LEOPOLDO MASTRIGLI, composer and music writer, *Albano Laziale, 1856 – †Lausanne, 1914. Beethoven la sua vita e le sue opere, Lapi, Città Di Castello, 1886, 1st edition, 208 pages. First Italian biography, with author’s handwritten submission.
zoom_inzoom_inHISTORIC EDITIONS FROM THE 1800s WITH ROMANTIC BINDING
DR KARL OPPEL, *Frankfurt am Main, 9 August 1816 - †Frankfurt am Main, 12 May 1903. Tondichter-Album (Album of Sound Poets), Koblenz, W. Groos publisher, 1885, 1st edition, 277 pages.
The finest book in the collection, with a green, embossed artistic cover and gold decorations.
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