Lot 7318

Description

Double sheet (approx. 25.5 x 21 cm), written in black ink on three pages, the reverse addressed to a "Herr Schnaase" in Danzig and bearing the postmark “Basel 22 Aout 1837”. A Dr. phil. A. Herrmann writes at length to his friend about his travel impressions: “Sunday, 23 July, I arrived in Leipzig on a magnificent morning [..] My first walk was the Peterskirche [..], then the Thomaskirche, where a concert was given for the benefit of the burnt-down Schleiz” (note: on 3 July 1837 a town fire broke out in Schleiz). In the afternoon he saw “for the first time the departing and arriving steam carriage [.] With every step my anticipation grew; soon a rumbling could be heard in the distance, and a little ahead of it a train of 8–10 carriages carrying more than 100 people rattled past. A magnificent sight, and one that inspires awe above all on first sight! It is as if a fabulous monster had escaped from the wilderness and was passing by, releasing its anger from the [.] steam pipe. [..] From Coburg via Bamberg to Erlangen. [..] I also rode on the steam carriage for the first time. The 2-hour-long stretch to Fürth was covered in 10 minutes. In the covered carriage I felt nothing of the awe that had come over me on first sight at Leipzig.” He closes with “May God preserve you and yours and all dear friends and acquaintances. [.] Farewell! Yours, A. Herrmann, Dr. phil.” Folded several times, marginal damage and tears, stained. From December 1835, the Ludwigeisenbahn operated the first public passenger service between Nuremberg and Fürth; freight traffic on this route was not introduced until June 1836, when two barrels of beer were transported. Although construction of the Leipzig–Dresden line had begun as early as 1833, it was not until April 1837 that a large crowd was able to watch the departure of a train. This line was not fully completed and opened until April 1839. A rare contemporary document from the pioneering era of railway travel.

Condition: II - III Questions about the lot?