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836 - Nietzscheana – Dite Collection
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Estimate €3,000 - €4,500
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Description
Nietzscheana – Dite Collection Nietzsche, Friedrich Dionysos Dithyramben. With an illustrated title page printed in purple and additionally hand-gilded (by G. Hewitt); book decoration and typography by Henry van de Velde. 4 blank leaves, 1 leaf (front title page with publisher’s logo), 32 pages, 1 leaf (print mark on the recto), 4 blank leaves. Leipzig, Insel, undated (1914). Lex-4°. Rust-brown master’s binding in Cape saffian leather (signed KGS Weimar) on five raised bands with a gold-embossed title and vignette on the cover, continuous gold-embossed fillets along the cover edges and gold-edged top (with slight scuff marks; the reverse is minimally and barely visibly stained). The last work Nietzsche prepared for publication, in what is arguably the most elegant of the three Nietzsche editions designed by Van de Velde for Insel. - Brinks, VdV 124 and pp. 192 ff. - Papiergesänge 31. - Sarkowski 1200. - Schauer I, 61 and II, 16 (ill.) - WNB I, 224. - Achilles Collection 27. - One of the few surviving copies with hand-gilding from a print run of 130 copies on English handmade paper bearing the ‘Aldwych’ watermark (total print run 150). - “Kippenberg corresponded with Graily Hewitt, the English gilder, regarding the extent of the gilding; he had sent not only the 20 copies on parchment but also numerous unbound proofs printed on handmade paper to England for the gilding of the title page.” After the outbreak of the First World War, however, the books and printed sheets were regarded as “enemy property” and, after being handed over to the English authorities, were sold at rock-bottom prices to a provincial English bookseller. “Kippenberg eventually tracked down the twenty copies printed on parchment, after some detours, in the damp cellar of a provincial bookseller. He bought them back” (Brinks). - Henry Van de Velde was a great admirer of Nietzsche and, as director of the Weimar School of Applied Arts, was also in close proximity to the archive run by the philosopher’s sister. He had been commissioned to redesign Villa Silberblick, the archive’s headquarters. Against this backdrop, Van de Velde designed all three major Nietzsche editions published by Insel: in 1908, *Thus Spoke Zarathustra* and *Ecce Homo*, and in 1914, the present volume, *Dionysian Dithyrambs* – all of which were milestones in the German book art movement: ‘The harmonious, organic unity, the cohesion between typography and design, is emphasised by the use of the colour purple for the printing of the title and the vignette. The work is carefully set, and the text is generously laid out on handmade paper. In its morocco leather binding (sic!), whose design draws on the final vignette of the text, the book presents itself as a precious, self-contained work.” (Papiergesänge) – Additionally, in the exclusive binding produced by the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Applied Arts in Weimar, directed by Van de Velde since 1907, here in the variant estimated at 50 copies with a smaller vignette, signed with the institution’s gold-embossed stamp on the back cover. According to the printer’s note, this luxury binding was intended solely for the Édition de Tête on parchment (nos. 1–20). - The edges show a very narrow margin of white; overall, an excellently preserved copy of the elegantly typeset, wide-margined print, with magnificent gold embossing. The last work that Nietzsche prepared for publication, presented in arguably the most exquisite of the three Nietzsche volumes conceived by Henry van de Velde for Insel. Featuring an illustrated title page, printed in purple and additionally hand-gilded, with book decoration and typography, all by Henry van de Velde. Bound in a masterful binding, executed in sumptuous Cape Saffian leather (signed: KGS Weimar) on five raised bands, a richly gilt title and vignette on the front cover, and continuous gilt fillets tracing the edges of the covers, as well as a gilt top edge (very minor, faint scuffing; the lower rear cover has an exceedingly faint, barely perceptible stain). - For references and quotations, please refer to the German text. - One of only a handful of surviving volumes to feature hand-gilding of the title, illustrated by the English specialist Graily Hewitt, from a strictly limited print run of 130 copies on mould-made ‘Aldwych’ watermarked paper (the entire edition was limited to just 150 copies). The design of this volume was overseen by Henry van de Velde, a devoted admirer of Nietzsche who, in addition to this title, lent his visionary aesthetic to editions of *Ecce Homo* and *Zarathustra* (both 1908). Bound exclusively in the bookbinding workshop of the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Applied Arts in Weimar under Van de Velde’s exacting supervision, the rear endpaper bears the institution’s gilt stamp. The copy we are offering belongs to a highly exclusive variant, estimated at just 50 copies, distinguished by a smaller title. According to the original colophon, this luxurious binding was originally intended solely for the deluxe ‘édition de tête’ printed on parchment (copies 1–20). The edges show remarkably minimal, narrow shelf wear. Overall, this remains a superbly preserved example of this elegantly typeset, wide-margined edition, distinguished by its vibrant hand-gilding.
See original version (German)
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
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Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
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