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843 - Nietzscheana – Dite Collection
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Estimate €600 - €900
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Description
Nietzscheana – Dite Collection Nietzsche, Friedrich The Gay Science (‘la gaya scienza’). New edition with an appendix: Songs of Prince Vogelfrei. Leipzig, Fritzsch, 1887. XII, 350 pp., 1 leaf. Half leather with gilt lettering and gilt label (scraped, spine faded, upper headband with small tears and missing sections). Title edition of the first edition and, at the same time, first edition of the expanded version – Schaberg 51 – Krummel X a – Title edition of the first edition of 1882 and, at the same time, first edition of the expanded version. The first edition was published in August 1882 by Ernst Schmeitzner in Chemnitz in a print run of just 1,000 copies, of which around 200 were sold by 1886. Following *Beyond Good and Evil*, Nietzsche had his major works republished by E. W. Fritzsch; *The Gay Science* underwent the most significant changes in this process. The text from 1882 remained unchanged. New additions included a title page with the subtitle “la gaya scienza”, a preface, the fifth book “We the Fearless” containing 41 aphorisms (now totalling 383), the appendix ‘Songs of Prince Vogelfrei’ containing fourteen poems, mostly revised versions of the ‘Idylls from Messina’, and the errata sheet. The preface and the fifth book were written in the autumn of 1886, partly based on notes not used in *Beyond Good and Evil*. They anticipate themes from *Beyond Good and Evil* and *On the Genealogy of Morals*, such as ‘Morality as a Problem’ (Aph. 345).The work brings Nietzsche’s ‘free-spirited’ period to a close and heralds the mood of *Thus Spoke Zarathustra*. It contains the famous Aphorism 125 on the ‘madman’ and the death of God, as well as the first, still tentative and symbolic formulation of the eternal recurrence (Aph. 341). The subtitle refers to the Gai Saber of the Provençal troubadours. Instead of the Emerson quotation from the first edition, the 1887 edition features Nietzsche’s own saying, ‘Above my front door’, as its motto. One of Nietzsche’s major works and of central importance to the reception of the philosopher. - Stamp and number on title page, some foxing. Schaberg 51 – Krummel X a – Title edition of the 1882 first edition and, at the same time, the first edition of the expanded version. The first edition was published in August 1882 by Ernst Schmeitzner in Chemnitz in a print run of just 1,000 copies, of which around 200 had been sold by 1886. Following *Beyond Good and Evil*, Nietzsche had his major works republished by E. W. Fritzsch, and *The Gay Science* was the most extensively revised of them. The 1882 text remained unchanged. New additions included a title page bearing the subtitle “la gaya scienza”, a preface, the fifth book “We Fearless Ones” containing 41 aphorisms (now totalling 383), the appendix “Songs of Prince Vogelfrei” containing fourteen poems, mostly reworkings of the “Idylls from Messina”, and the leaf of corrections. The preface and fifth book were written in the autumn of 1886, partly from notes not used for “Beyond Good and Evil”. They foreshadow themes from *Beyond Good and Evil* and *On the Genealogy of Morals*, such as ‘morality as a problem’ (aphorism 345). The work brings Nietzsche’s ‘free-spirit’ period to a close and heralds the mood of *Thus Spoke Zarathustra*. It contains the famous aphorism 125 on the ‘madman’ and the death of God, as well as the first, still tentative and symbolic formulation of the eternal recurrence (aphorism 341). The subtitle refers to the Gai Saber of the Provençal troubadours. Instead of the Emerson quotation found in the first edition, the 1887 edition features Nietzsche’s own verse ‘Over My Door’ as its motto. One of Nietzsche’s major works and of central importance for the reception of the philosopher. – Stamp and number on title page, slightly foxed.
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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