August Wilhelm Schlegel - Ion: Ein Schauspiel - 1803-1803

Ion: Ein Schauspiel - August Wilhelm Schlegel

Hamburg: Friedrich Perthes, 1803. [2], 161, [1] pages. 21cm x 12cm. Half leather binding with marbled boards, (faded) gilt decorated and lettered spine, and all edges red. First edition of this definitive German Romantic drama, famously directed by Goethe and at the center of Weimar's theatrical controversies. Ion: Ein Schauspiel is a five-act verse drama written by the celebrated poet, translator, and chief theorist of German Romanticism, August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845). Heavily adapted from the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, the play is structurally intricate and examines societal, tragic, and familial conflicts. The volume holds a landmark status in German stage history. Under the personal theatrical direction of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ion had its legendary premiere at the Weimar Court Theater (Weimarisches Hoftheater) on January 2, 1802. Its staging and Schlegel's modern interpretation ignited a fierce, passionate intellectual dispute across Weimar. Literary giants like Friedrich Schiller, Christoph Martin Wieland, and Johann Gottfried Herder openly critiqued the production, prompting Goethe to write a fiery defensive essay to shield both the play and the theater management from public assault. Featuring a beautifully engraved title-page vignette designed by Ludwig Tieck and engraved by Friedrich Bült, this text remains a vital monument of Weimar Classicism intersecting with Early German Romanticism. Extremely scarce in its true 1803 first printing.
Rubbing, bumping, and wear to the boards and spine. The gilt colouring of the spine lettering and decoration is mostly faded. Pencil markings on the front pastedown endpaper. Pencil markings on the title page. Some browning and spotting throughout, and very light water staining on the top edge in the first half of the book. The text is clear, the paper is crisp, and the binding is solid. Overall, a handsome copy in good condition.