Gerhart Hauptmann TLS Re: His 76th Birthday

A 1p typed letter in German signed by Nobel Prize-winning German writer Gerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946), as "Gerhart Hauptmann" near the bottom. Written at Hauptmann's longtime home, the Villa Wiesenstein, Agnetendorf, Hirschberg im Riesengebirge, Lower Silesia, Germany (modern day Jagniątków, Jelenia Góra, Poland) in December 1938 on bifold stationery. The recipient's surname has been blacked out. Double hole punched along the left edge. Expected minor surface wear including a few edge wrinkles, else near fine. The inner pages are blank. The letter is currently displayed via metal corners on a black mount measuring 5" x 7.25" overall. The letter itself measures 4.5" x 7." Accompanied by provenance materials originally issued by Markus Brandes Autographs (Konstanz, Germany; today Kesswil, Switzerland) including a photocopy of a Certificate of Authenticity, receipt, and hologrammed folder.

Hauptmann's letter was addressed to an unidentified autograph collector, who had conveyed his best wishes on the occasion of Hauptmann's 76th birthday on November 15, 1938. Hauptmann wrote to the collector in part: "Thank you very much for the warm wishes on my birthday. I would be happy to fulfill your request for an autograph…"

Gerhart Hauptmann had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature over 20 years earlier, in 1912, in recognition of his play "The Weavers" (1892) and other important works. Hauptmann embraced a literary movement known as naturalism, which aimed to "faire vrai," or, depict people as they really are. Using new, modern guidelines for interpreting characters, constructing plots, and staging plays, naturalist playwrights like Hauptmann discarded archaic theatrical conventions like romantic subplots or Greek choruses. Instead, they explored individual psychology, human behavior, and sociology in an irresistible everyday setting. Hauptmann's contemporary, the French novelist Emile Zola, called naturalism "the new formula," and naturalism was indeed revolutionary since no topic was considered too trivial. Naturalism is still the preferred mode of staging drama today, though twenty-first century theatre goers might recognize it under a different label -- slice of life.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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