Derek Berg spotted a copy of "Hermann and Dorothea" up for grabs on Second Avenue... hard to read the inscription, dated 1883, because of the lack of emojis...
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Today in epic poems discarded on 2nd Avenue
Derek Berg spotted a copy of "Hermann and Dorothea" up for grabs on Second Avenue... hard to read the inscription, dated 1883, because of the lack of emojis...
10 comments:
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Take it to antiques roadshow you might get lucky. I once found an autographed James Baldwin book in a box on the (Old) bowery and I sold it for a c-note.
ReplyDeleteWas this near 5th st? If so may be from my building.
ReplyDeleteLook at that glorious penmanship! Sad to think this was just ditched.
ReplyDeleteEden Bee, yes it was. On 2nd Ave around 8 a.m. All the pages had whole words 7 phrases carefully razor bladed out
ReplyDeleteIs that inscription in German (from the pre-General Slocum neighborhood?) The handwriting is so beautiful as to be almost illegible.
ReplyDeleteThe inscription means: "In remembrance of your cousin Franziska David, May 1883"
ReplyDeleteIt was written in German Kurrent style, which was common in Germany and among German immigrants during that time period. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurrent
The book itself seems to be a poem by Goethe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_and_Dorothea
The book presumably belonged to one of the many German immigrants living in the EV in the late 19th century. Take it from here, Grievelings!
What pen(wo)manship. And to think this was the norm. Ah, what we've lost to technology. So Derek, is this your find?
ReplyDeleteIt says "As a remembrance from your cousin Franzis von Dornsich, May 1883", altho I can't be 100% sure of the spelling of that last name. Guessing that a German book that old is printed in fraktur, also not an easy read for those not trained!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a treasure. I wonder what words were cut out. Anyone find a ransom note anywhere?
ReplyDeleteThis was thrown out from my building then. It was in the basement trash room along with old records from the 60’s and oddly enough some DVDs of new James Bond movies and Beyoncé videos.
ReplyDelete