The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 28, July 11, 2004, Article 6

WAGNER MEDAL CORRESPONDENCE

  Ken Schultz writes: "Below is an item I happened across that
  I think our subscribers will find interesting. My correspondence
  has been with Mr. Brian Parkhill at Bauman Rare Books in
  Philadelphia.   My hope is that our illustrious readership will
  jump on board with other fascinating tidbits related to this!
  Thanks."

  [While we generally do not publish individual for-sale items,
  when an important item worthy of discussion appears, we'll
  make an exception.  This is certainly an interesting item, so
  here goes.  We'd love to hear reader comments.  The asking
  price is $20,000.  -Editor]

  WAGNER, Richard. Autograph letter signed. Bayreuth:
  September 8, 1876.

  Leaf measures 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches, folded to form
  two leaves.

  Autograph letter signed by Wagner discussing his design for
  a medal, with drawings in pencil by Wagner of the design
  featuring the three central mythic objects of the Ring cycle.
  The letter reads:

  "Dear old friend, My wife told me that you have kindly
  agreed to design for Loharpt(?) in Vienna a drawing for a
  little medal which I want to distribute at my staged festivals
  to participants. Would you be so kind; I suggest the
  Nibelungen ring pierced by Wotan's spear and Siegfried's
  sword. On the cover some words like: To his festival
  companions Richard Wagner 1876 or something similar.
  Be so kind as to drop me a word about this if you really
  want to go to the effort. How happy I was to greet you
  again before one of my works. Hope you enjoyed it.
  Heartfelt greetings. Your old friend, Richard Wagner."

  The drawings on the recto include three renderings of the
  medal's image along with an individual image of the sword
  and various decorative flourishes. In 1876, 28 years after
  it was first conceived, Der Ring des Nibelungen was
  first performed in its entirety at the Bayreuth opera house
  built specifically to its needs. Performed in three complete
  cycles in August, the Ring's last performance preceded this
  letter by only one week. The three mythic objects that form
  Wagner's design are the central objects of the cycle: the
  quest for the ring is the motivation of the story, the God
  Wotan derives all his power from the spear, and Siegfried's
  sword is what finally destroys the spear and through it the
  powers of the gods."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum