Auction 73 - Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
Werner Kraft – Drafts of Poems, Translations and Articles / Booklets and Printouts
Opening: $400
Sold for: $500
Including buyer's premium
A collection of handwritten and typescript drafts and printed publications by poet and literary scholar Werner Kraft. Germany and Israel, 1940s-1970s (some earlier or later items). German.
Werner Kraft (1896-1991), born in Braunschweig, was a poet, writer and literary scholar. In 1934, he escaped from Germany to Jerusalem, where he spent most of his life, still writing in German. In Israel, Kraft had close ties with German-born writers and poets and continued to publish his works in various journals in Europe. His close friends included Gershom Scholem and Walter Benjamin (who referred to him in their correspondence) and the poet Tuvya Ruebner, who in his youth was his literary protégé. Most of Kraft's works were not translated into Hebrew and he remains a "poet's poet".
The present lot consists of a collection of drafts and printed publications, many inscribed and signed, documenting Kraft's works. Including:
· Twenty-nine handwritten poem draft pages (enclosed is a letter from 1945, sent, presumably, to poet Tuvya Ruebner along with the poems).
· Draft for a small anthology of poems (four typescript pages), September 1949.
· Draft for a short story titled "Genius in Rom" (nine typescript leaves with handwritten corrections). First published in the journal Sinn und Form, October-December issue, 1959.
· Two drafts for anthologies of translated poetry: handwritten draft for translation of poetry and diary chapters by Charles Baudelaire, Paul-Marie Verlaine, Stéphane Mallarmé, Michelangelo, Aloysius Bertrand and others (dedicated to the writer Wilhelm Lehmann, 1952); a typescript draft of an anthology of translated poems by French-Uruguayan poet Jules Supervielle.
· Six drafts for essays and articles on the subjects of literature and poetry: a long article about Franz Kafka, two articles about the poet Friedrich Hölderlin, an essay on the subject of poetry titled "Das Dunkel des Gedichts" (first published in the journal Akzente) and more.
· Twenty-four booklets and printouts with articles and works by Kraft (some of the booklets are incomplete). Some inscribed by Kraft.
· And more.
A total of 55 items. Size and condition vary. Good overall condition.
Provenance: The Tuvya Ruebner Collection.
Werner Kraft (1896-1991), born in Braunschweig, was a poet, writer and literary scholar. In 1934, he escaped from Germany to Jerusalem, where he spent most of his life, still writing in German. In Israel, Kraft had close ties with German-born writers and poets and continued to publish his works in various journals in Europe. His close friends included Gershom Scholem and Walter Benjamin (who referred to him in their correspondence) and the poet Tuvya Ruebner, who in his youth was his literary protégé. Most of Kraft's works were not translated into Hebrew and he remains a "poet's poet".
The present lot consists of a collection of drafts and printed publications, many inscribed and signed, documenting Kraft's works. Including:
· Twenty-nine handwritten poem draft pages (enclosed is a letter from 1945, sent, presumably, to poet Tuvya Ruebner along with the poems).
· Draft for a small anthology of poems (four typescript pages), September 1949.
· Draft for a short story titled "Genius in Rom" (nine typescript leaves with handwritten corrections). First published in the journal Sinn und Form, October-December issue, 1959.
· Two drafts for anthologies of translated poetry: handwritten draft for translation of poetry and diary chapters by Charles Baudelaire, Paul-Marie Verlaine, Stéphane Mallarmé, Michelangelo, Aloysius Bertrand and others (dedicated to the writer Wilhelm Lehmann, 1952); a typescript draft of an anthology of translated poems by French-Uruguayan poet Jules Supervielle.
· Six drafts for essays and articles on the subjects of literature and poetry: a long article about Franz Kafka, two articles about the poet Friedrich Hölderlin, an essay on the subject of poetry titled "Das Dunkel des Gedichts" (first published in the journal Akzente) and more.
· Twenty-four booklets and printouts with articles and works by Kraft (some of the booklets are incomplete). Some inscribed by Kraft.
· And more.
A total of 55 items. Size and condition vary. Good overall condition.
Provenance: The Tuvya Ruebner Collection.
Literature and Poetry, Manuscripts, Author Autographs
and First Editions
Literature and Poetry, Manuscripts, Author Autographs
and First Editions