Richard Wagner and the Seamstress

64pp, with black and white plate illustrations.  Blue publisher’s cloth-covered boards, silver-stamped lettering on the spine. Cloth slightly rubbed on corners and spine ends.  Top text block edge dust darkened.  Smudge mark on front free endpaper else internally neat, clean, bright and tight.  In its original dust wrapper, moderately rubbed and bumped on extreme edges, a little shelf worn, price clipped.  

In 1923 an unusual bundle of letters was discovered in the Library of Congress – original letters from German composer Richard Wagner to a Viennese seamstress.  The letters revealed aspects of Wagner’s character and interests not previously recognised, and they were published a year after discovery by Daniel Spitzer.  And yet, later still, the letters were revealed as forgeries from the hand of Wagner’s greatest rival, Johannes Brahms.  Very hard to find title.