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Ein Jahr in Arkadien: Kyllenion

Ein Jahr in Arkadien: Kyllenion by August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenberg [Emile Leopold Augustus]

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$12,500.00
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Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA
Title
Ein Jahr in Arkadien: Kyllenion
Author
August, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenberg [Emile Leopold Augustus]
Seller
Burnside Rare Books, ABAA (United States)
Condition
Near Fine
Description
[Jena, Germany]: [Frommann and Wesselhoft], 1805. First Edition. Near Fine. A rare presentation copy of the first edition of "the earliest known novel that centers on an explicitly male-male love affair," written by the cross-dressing Duke August Emil Leopold von Sachsen-Gotha (1772-1822). The ruler of a miniscule German territory during the Napoleonic Era, he was Queen Victoria's grandfather-in-law. With a presentation inscription on a preliminary leaf possibly in a secretarial hand reading, "Vom Verfasser [From the author] / Gotha 1805 / Karoline(?)." Lavishly bound in contemporary green morocco boards with elaborate gilt stamping, all edges gilt, inner dentelle and pink watered silk endpapers. Near Fine with light wear to spine label, contents bright but with sporadic foxing; housed in a recent custom cloth slipcase. With its backdrop of classical Greek mythology, this pastoral fable concerning two handsome shepherds who fall in love is among the first homoerotic works in Europe, and is a forgotten treasure of German literature. Described as "a kind of bucolic utopia, in which free homoerotic love is portrayed [...] the strange work attempts to represent real Greek life." Goedeke V, 472, 9, 1.- Hayn / Got. III, 375. - Wolfstieg 41633. A fervent admirer of Napoleon (who visited him repeatedly in Gotha), he corresponded with Jean Paul, Madame de Stael, Bettina von Arnim, and Carl Maria von Weber. Goethe once described the duke's preference for provocative appearances: "I have no complaints about him, but was always anxious to accept an invitation to his table, because one could not foresee which of the guests of honor he would like to treat relentlessly by accident." He often wore women's clothes and was called "Emilie" by his confidants.

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