Ueber Kunst und Alterthum. - [Sur l’art et l’antiquité].

Goethe's most comprehensive work of art critic in a beautiful untrimmed copy, complete with all original publisher's wrappers.

Devoted initially to German art of the Rhine-Main region, it soon branched out to include other areas as well. Goethe - who dominated German literarary culture for almost sixty years - wrote most but not all of the 285 articles, of which most are not signed. He however claimed in a conversation with Frédéric-Jacob Soret, the translator of his botanical writing : “Mon œuvre est celle d'un être collectif et elle porte le nom de Goethe”.

Goethe also designed the ornament of the original book covers used for the first three issues : it depicts within a border two stone statues of Saints on both sides in Gotic tabernacles, above in centre the shining sun which is partly covered by a cloud, below a sword and crook, an urn and a mortar and an antique stone with isncription. The back cover depics a waterfall with a fragment of a Roman pillar. Due to economic reasons the ublisher decided to adorn the rest of the wrappers with varying borders only. The second issue of the last volume shows a mourning border in commemoration of the death of Carl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who had summoned the young Goethe to Weimar in 1775. "The original wrappers [of issues IVff.] are important, because they not only offer the indices but in parts also appendices and proverbs" (translated after Otto Deneke).

Started with 2'000 copies the number of printed copies decreased continually to 750. The third and last issue was brought to light posthumously by some of Goethe's friends. There are two letters in which Goethe announces the completion of his last literary work, the second part of Faust. Other articles spread over the eighteen brochures contribute as well to the story of the genesis of what has been called the greatest long poem of modern European literature.