Jakob Wassermann – Collection of Manuscripts and Letters – Austria, 1920s – Original Screenplay, Essay on Judaism ...

Jakob Wassermann – Collection of Manuscripts and Letters – Austria, 1920s – Original Screenplay, Essay on Judaism, and Literary Fragments

A diverse collection including letters, manuscripts of literary works, and a signed portrait photograph, by German-Jewish author Jakob Wassermann; sent to his literary agent in the United States, Nathan Ausübel. Austria (and other locations?), 1920s-30s. German.

The collection includes:

1. "Yellow Coat" (Gelbmäntelchen) – screenplay by Jakob Wassermann, typescript with handwritten notes; a story about an angel sent to Earth to touch the soul of "the most indifferent man" (the screenplay is based on Wassermann's short story "Jost", published in the anthology Der Wendekreis [Berlin, 1920]). To the best of our knowledge, this work was never filmed.

[1], 18, [2] leaves. 34 cm.

2. "The Jew as an Oriental" (Der Jude als Orientale) – essay by Jakob Wassermann, typescript, based on a letter to Martin Buber; in the essay, Wassermann addresses the question of defining Judaism, describing Eastern Jewry as a positive alternative, rooted in its origins, to European Jewry (the essay was published in the literary journal "Daimon" [Vienna 1918], alongside articles, poetry and prose excerpts by Max Brod, Ernst Weiss, Franz Werfel, and others).

5 pages. 27.5 cm.

3. Fragments from a literary work by Wassermann, in his handwriting (the novel Christian Wahnschaffe?); thirteen pages in Wassermann's small and elegant handwriting, with corrections and deletions, eight of them written in German Kurrent script, and five in regular German script (Latin letters). The fragments may be taken from the manuscript of the novel Christian Wahnschaffe (1919), mentioned in one of Wassermann's letters to his agent in the USA, featured in the present lot (the novel was published in English as The World's Illusion).

[13] leaves (numbered 156-160, 330, and 339-341; irregular pagination). Approx. 21-25 cm.

4-22. Nineteen letters by Wassermann, signed in his hand, addressed to his literary agent in the USA, Nathan Ausübel. Some are handwritten, occasionally on official letterhead. Among the topics discussed in the letters: the power of attorney Wassermann granted Ausübel for publishing his writings in the United States (July 10, 1924); the publication of the novels Das Gänsemännchen, Die Masken Erwin Reiners and Christian Wahnschaffe, by the publisher Harcourt Brace and a screenplay to be sent to Ausübel (apparently the draft screenplay in present lot, August 28, 1924); the death of Wassermann's friend, composer Ferruccio Busoni (August 28, 1924); notice of sending the proofs of the novel Faber oder die verlorenen Jahre, along with a copy of a letter sent to the publisher Harcourt Brace, and mention of Wassermann's friend, German-Jewish author Ludwig Lewisohn (September 8, 1924); an update that Wassermann received an inquiry from Fox Film studios regarding the production of a film based on one of his novellas, and negotiations with an English publisher on publishing the novel Die Juden von Zirndorf (September 18, 1924); mention of Thomas Mann and author Werner Hegemann (December 17, 1931); and more.

Number of pages varies, approx. 12-29 cm. Some letters are accompanied by the original envelope in which they were sent.

23. Portrait photograph of Jakob Wassermann, inscribed and signed by him, to Nathan Ausübel (the inscription is dated July 9, 1924, Altaussee).

Approx. 15X11 cm. Mounted on cardboard.

Jakob Wassermann (1873-1934) was one of the most important and successful German-Jewish authors of the 20th century. Born in Fürth (Bavaria) to a middle-class Jewish family. In 1897 he published his first novel, "The Jews of Zirndorf" (Die Juden von Zirndorf), which achieved immediate success and established his reputation in Germany as a promising author. Among his notable works: "The Maurizius Case" (Der Fall Maurizius), "Caspar Hauser" and "The Goose Man" (Das Gänsemännchen). In 1921 he published his book "My Path as a German and a Jew" (Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude), in which he directly confronted the conflict between his identity as a German and his Jewish cultural heritage.

Despite his literary success, Wassermann suffered from the growing antisemitism in Germany. With the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933, he was expelled from the Prussian Academy of Arts, his books were placed on the "black list" and banned from publication in Germany, and many copies were burned in book burnings. Wassermann died in 1934 in the villa where he resided in Altaussee, Austria.

Condition varies.

Provenance: Sotheby's, London, April 1982, Lot 496.