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813 - Satire Mephistopheles. (A political-satirical weekly magazin…
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Estimate €600 - €800
Sale commission
Description
Satire Mephistopheles. (A political-satirical weekly magazine with illustrations). With numerous woodcut illustrations and lithographic plates. Hamburg, C. Müller and Wandsbek, Hoffmann & Campe, 1847–1852. 4°. Paperback, with a private contemporary half-leather binding and half-cloth cover, featuring a mounted original title label and label with catalogue number. A very rare Hamburg Sunday newspaper. – Contains for 1847: No. 2 (24 Jan.) – No. 18 (16 May). Softback. – For 1848: No. 1 (2 Apr.) – 39 (24 Dec.) hardback (back cover loose). – Title page bearing the stamp of the Workers’ Association in St. Georg and that of the Educational Association for Workers in Hamburg. – 1850: No. 92 (1 Jan) - 144 (29 Dec.). Hardback. - 1851/1852. No. 145 (5 Jan. 1851), 147–149, 151–154, 156–172, 174–180, 182–195, 197–203, 205b–207, 209, 212, 216 (16 May 1852). Handwritten copy – inside cover and endpapers with mounted newspaper articles, including one from 1957 by the publisher and journalist Carl Thinius about the editor of the journal, Wilhelm Marr (1819–1904): “On 3 January 1847, a Sunday newspaper began to appear in Hamburg, aptly named ‘Mephistopheles’. It was a rallying cry for democracy. Its columns railed fiercely against the established order; the satire usually had a strongly personal tone, but it was, after all, the paper’s intention to expose the dark forces … Unfortunately, the ‘Mephistopheles’ had only a short run. A total of 222 issues were published over two publication periods. As a result of censorship harassment, only 18 issues could be published in the first year. The final issues consisted almost entirely of gaps left by censorship. Following the provisional final issue on 18 May 1847, after a break of just under a year, Issue 19 appeared on 2 April 1848, edited solely by the ‘wild’ journalist Wilhelm Marr, who closed his editorial office – which had been relocated to Wandsbek – in 1852 with Issue 222. “*Mephistopheles* is not only a key witness to the beginnings of the democratic press in Hamburg, but also a treasure trove of pre-March journalism …” – The three bound volumes each bear the stamp “Private Hamburgensia Collection Carl Thinius”. - 2 vols. with library index cards mounted on the inside back cover; browned due to the paper; in the last vol., a few loose leaves loose and the captions partly trimmed close, some browning, foxing and finger stains (more pronounced in 1848, which also has marginal discolouration in places), occasional water stains, otherwise generally well preserved. – Not collated in detail. Very rare illustrated Hamburg political satirical Sunday paper. With numerous wood-engraved illustrations and lithographed plates. Contemporary paperback, half-cloth and half-leather with mounted original title label and label bearing stock number. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to the standard tax regime. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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