GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832). Autograph manuscript signed ('Goethe') of a poetic riddle, 'Logogryph', Berka, 21 June 1814.

Price realised GBP 10,000

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GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832). Autograph manuscript signed ('Goethe') of a poetic riddle, 'Logogryph', Berka, 21 June 1814.

Price realised GBP 10,000

Details More from

GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832). Autograph manuscript signed ('Goethe') of a poetic riddle, 'Logogryph', Berka, 21 June 1814.

Title and two lines on one page, 114 x 184mm (very minor spotting, faint traces of guards on verso). Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 7 December 1999, lot 228; Schoyen MS 5530.

A riddle, written during a stay in the spa town of Bad Berka.

'Das erste giebt mir Lust genug
Das zweyte aber das macht mich klug'.

A 'Logogryph' is a form of linguistic riddle: a number of solutions have been suggested for Goethe's elusive couplet, including 'Welalter' and 'Schaden/Scharaden'. The format of the present leaf suggests that it may originally have been a contribution for an album. Goethe had been closely involved in the development of a spa complex in the town of Berka, and had overseen its inauguration in the previous summer. Sophien-Ausgabe I, vol. 4, p. 168.

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