Müller, Johannes von

Description:

Schaffhausen 1752 - Kassel 1809
14 x 9,5 cm
Johannes von Müller, Sämmtliche Werke (Complete Works), edited by Johann Georg Müller, 40 volumes (complete edition), Stuttgart and Tübingen 1831-35, published by J. G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung, with folding plate in volume 32, half leather bindings. Bindings minimally bumped and rubbed, partially minimally stained. Handwritten note by the previous owner: “Selten (Rare)” and “Erste vollständige Gesamtausgabe(First complete edition).”
Acquired from the previous owner (collector's stamp “H W in a circle” in the volumes) at the Munich antiquarian bookshop Hauser in 1984 for DM 1,290. Previous ownership by Queen Olga of Württemberg unknown at the time.
This first complete edition of the works and letters of Johannes von Müller in 40 volumes has a spectacularly unusual provenance, as evidenced by the bookplate affixed to each volume. It shows a monogram used by Olga Nikolaevna Romanova, Grand Duchess of Russia and later Queen Olga of Württemberg (1822-1892), which contains the Cyrillic letters “O N” within a vignette and is crowned by the Russian tsar's crown.
This monogram can also be found on other objects-for example, on a silver fish plater made in St. Petersburg in 1840 from the dowry of the Tsar's daughter, or on a cup in the Württemberg State Museum in Stuttgart (inventory number 1998-190 a-b). Equally unusual is the library classification system, printed in Cyrillic and supplemented by hand, which is located above and below the vignette. This suggests that the complete edition must have been part of her private library even before Olga moved to Württemberg, i.e., while she was still in Russia. It is well known that books from Olga von Württemberg's collection were auctioned off individually after her death, especially around 1900 and in the 1920s and 1930s. However, a collection of books from Olga's Russian period is absolutely extraordinary and, according to experts, has never before been offered on the market. The complete edition of Müller's works thus offers a unique insight into the private library of a Russian tsar's daughter. The fact that it is German-language literature is not unusual, as German was widely spoken at the Russian court, partly because Olga's mother, Charlotte of Prussia (1798-1860), was German.
The Swiss historian, journalist, and statesman Johannes von Müller (1752 Schaffhausen - 1809 Kassel), ennobled in 1791 by Emperor Leopold II, is known to only a few today, but was highly prominent during his lifetime. After studying theology in Göttingen, he passed his exams in
Schaffhausen in 1772 and subsequently spent many years as a private tutor to various internationally renowned figures. During this time, he came into contact with Voltaire, Johann Heinrich Füssli, and others.
After the publication of the first volume of his Geschichte der Schweizer (History of the Swiss) in 1780, he achieved national fame, was appointed to a professorship in Kassel, became court librarian to the Elector of Mainz, and from 1792 served as a diplomat and, from 1800, as curator of the court library in the service of Emperor Francis II in Vienna. This meteoric career came to an end in 1802 with the so-called Hartenberg affair. His 22-year-old protégé from Schaffhausen, Friedrich von Hartenberg, took advantage of Müller's homosexuality and, using a false name - he pretended to be the Hungarian Count Louis Batthyany Szent Ivany - obtained Müller's entire fortune through correspondence. After the fraud was uncovered, Müller sued Hartenberg, who defended himself by claiming that he had been sexually abused by Müller. Hartenberg was sentenced to eleven months in prison, while Müller was able to save himself by taking an oath. However, his reputation and career were compromised.
Nevertheless, in 1804 he was appointed court historian of the House of Brandenburg in Berlin and became a full member of the Academy of Sciences as a privy councillor. In 1807, he changed political sides and became first Minister of State, then Director of Public Education in
the Kingdom of Westphalia under King Jérôme, Napoleon Bonaparte's younger brother. He died in Kassel in 1809.
Von Müller was in contact or befriended with many of the most important figures of his time: Johann Georg Jacobi, Friedrich Nicolai, Georg Forster, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Archduke Johann of Austria, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Alexander von Humboldt, Johann Gottlieb Fichte and many more. He had a special connection with Johann Gottfried Herder since visiting his brother Johann Georg Müller, who published the Complete Works of his brother Johannes posthumously as a complete edition, in Weimar, where he was a private student of Herder. Due to his relatively open homosexuality, which was often very present in his works but also weighed heavily on him because of his deep religiousness, he was subjected to sometimes fierce attacks well into the 20th century. He was also criticized for his sudden support of Napoleon. Nevertheless, Friedrich Schiller mentioned him positively in Wilhelm Tell, as did Goethe.
Sincere thanks to Ingrid-Sibylle Hoffmann, Katharina Küster, and
Maaike van Rijn from the Württemberg State Museum and Christian Herrmann from the Württemberg State Library for their academic support.