"Altneuland" – First Edition, 1902 - Inscribed and Signed by Theodor Herzl to Prince Friedrich Wrede of Austria

"Altneuland" – First Edition, 1902 - Inscribed and Signed by Theodor Herzl to Prince Friedrich Wrede of Austria

Altneuland, Roman von Theodor Herzl. Leipzig: Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, [1902]. German. First edition.
A utopian novel describing Herzl's vision of the Jewish state; the title page bears the words "If you will it, it is no dream" ("Wenn ihr wollt, ist es kein Märchen").
In the margin, above the famous motto, appears an inscription handwritten and signed by Theodor Herzl: "To Prince Friedrich Wrede, with friendly respect, Th. Herzl" ("Dem Fürsten Friedrich Wrede in freundschaftlicher Verehrung, Th. Herzl").
Prince Friedrich Wrede (1870-1945), an Austrian nobleman, writer, and playwright, was pro-Zionist and one of Theodor Herzl's early supporters. Some five years before Herzl presented him with this copy, Wrede published a favorable review of Herzl's book "Der Judenstaat" – at a time when the book was widely ridiculed and scorned – writing in the Berlin newspaper "Die Zukunft": "Is the establishment of a Jewish state impossible? I believe: not at all. Dr. Herzl shows us the path to follow in order to achieve this goal... Jerusalem of the Hasmonean kings, in all its glory, with its illuminated Temple, its shining palaces, its fragrant gardens... can rise again" ("Die Zukunft", August 28, 1897 issue; German).
Herzl wrote "Altneuland" between 1899-1902 and initially titled the manuscript "New Zion". Later, inspired by the "Altneuschul" – the old synagogue in Prague – he changed the manuscript's title to "Altneuland". In the same year it was published, the book was also translated into Yiddish and Hebrew (in Hebrew it was called "Tel Aviv", as decided by the translator Nahum Sokolow. This name was later adopted as the name of the first Jewish city) and within less than a year, it was translated into six languages.

[1], 343, [2] pages. 18 cm. Good condition. Two bookplates of Prince Friedrich Wrede with the monogram FW, at the beginning and end of the volume (minor glue residue from pasting the bookplates). Minor stains. Inscription on verso of title page (partially erased). New half-leather binding, with gilt lettering on spine. Minor wear to binding. Minor tears to spine.