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849 - Nietzscheana – Dite Collection
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,300
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Description
Nietzscheana – Dite Collection Nietzsche, Friedrich The Twilight of the Idols, or How to Philosophise with a Hammer. Leipzig, C.G. Naumann, 1889. 4 leaves, 144 pp. Marbled endpapers. Contemporary half-leather binding on 5 genuine ribs with gold-stamped title on the spine. First edition of one of Nietzsche’s most controversial works. – Schaberg 56 – Borst Collection 3811 - *The Twilight of the Idols* was written in the summer and autumn of 1888, during Nietzsche’s final, frenetically productive year of creative work. It emerged from material that had originally been gathered for the abandoned *Will to Power*. Nietzsche originally intended to call it ‘A Psychologist’s Idleness’. Peter Gast considered the title too modest, and Nietzsche consequently chose the present title, an allusion to Wagner’s ‘Götterdämmerung’. The preface is dated 30 September 1888 in Turin, the day on which the first volume of *The Revaluation of All Values* was completed. There, Nietzsche describes the short work itself as ‘a great declaration of war’. The book summarises Nietzsche’s late philosophy in twelve sections. These include ‘Sayings and Arrows’, ‘The Problem of Socrates’, ‘How the “True World” Finally Became a Fable’, ‘Morality as Anti-Nature’ and ‘Ramblings of an Out-of-Step Man’. It contains some of Nietzsche’s most frequently quoted phrases, such as ‘What does not kill me makes me stronger’. At the same time, the work includes provocative physiological passages, such as ‘Morality for Doctors’, which remain the subject of controversial debate to this day. Printing was completed in early November 1888. The print run totalled 1,000 copies. The work was not delivered until January 1889, by which time Nietzsche had already suffered a breakdown in Turin. It was the last work that he himself sent to press. Sales were slow at first: in October 1893, 659 copies remained unsold. A fine, clean copy in a contemporary binding. First edition of one of Nietzsche’s most controversial works. – Schaberg 56 – Borst Collection 3811 – *Twilight of the Idols* was written in the summer and autumn of 1888, during Nietzsche’s final and feverishly productive year of work. It grew out of material originally gathered for the abandoned *Will to Power*. Nietzsche had initially intended to call it *The Idleness of a Psychologist*. Peter Gast thought that title too modest, and Nietzsche then chose the present one, an allusion to Wagner’s *Götterdämmerung*. The preface is dated Turin, 30 September 1888, the day on which the first book of the “Revaluation of All Values” was completed. In it, Nietzsche himself describes the little work as “a great declaration of war”. The book summarises Nietzsche’s late philosophy in twelve sections. These include ‘Maxims and Arrows’, ‘The Problem of Socrates’, ‘How the “True World” Finally Became a Fable’, ‘Morality as Anti-Nature’, and ‘Skirmishes of an Untimely Man’. It contains some of Nietzsche’s most frequently quoted sayings, such as ‘What does not kill me makes me stronger’. At the same time, it includes provocative passages on physiology, such as ‘Morality for Physicians’, which remain controversial to this day. Printing was completed in early November 1888. The print run was 1,000 copies. The work was not published until January 1889, by which time Nietzsche had already suffered a breakdown in Turin. It was the last work that he himself sent to press. Sales were slow at first: in October 1893, 659 copies were still unsold. A good, clean copy in its original binding. – A good, clean copy.
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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