Beethoven, Ludwig van.

51 pages, oblong 4to, (c.23.5 x 34.5cms), engraved throughout, plate number 614, priced on title, with over sixty proof-corrections to seventy-five bars of music, mainly written in orange-red crayon (a few in pencil) in the staves, a few annotated in ink in the margins, together with a four-bar passage of fingering written in brown ink by other hands on page 9, and a few notes on hand-drawn staves in the margins, unbound in a fitted cloth folder, final page repaired at hinge with slight loss, p.37 trimmed to plate at foot, a few marginalia cropped (pp.9 & 22), ownership inscription of Maria Richter to title (1880), some inky marks & fingerprints (probably by the printer)

P. Stroh, 'Evolution of an Edition the Case of Beethoven's Opus 2: Part 1 Punches, Proofs, and Printings the Seven States of Artaria's First Edition' Notes, Vol. 57/2 (2000), pp. 289-329.  For the first edition cf Kinsky, p.8 (issue a); Hoboken 16; Hirsch, IV 240 (all having "dediées" on title).

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Unique:  this is the only copy of the earliest state of Beethoven's sonatas dedicated to Haydn, with contemporary corrections possibly made under the composer's direction. Although a few sketches exist, there is no autograph or other contemporary manuscript for the Sonatas Op.2: this copy represents the earliest primary source for these three works.

There are contemporary corrections to about seventy-five bars in all, mainly to Op.2 no.2 (in A Major) and Op.2 no. 3 (in C major).  As about ninety percent of these corrections are implemented in subsequent proofs, including one emended by Beethoven (now in the Staatsbibliothek, Berlin), it seems likely that they were done under his direction or approval.  The corrections here are mainly written in orange-red crayon, on or above the staves and include additional notes, rests, accidentals and phrasing (p.38), notes and dynamics (p.32), notes and accidentals (p.35; p.23, marked "ist gut"), and articulation (pp. 43-45). There is also a four-bar passage of fingering, somewhat roughly added in ink by another hand, which is also implemented in the Berlin proof.  Below this someone else has added an alternative fingering (marked "nach Czerny").

This corrected proof contains the earliest known state of the engraved plates of Artaria's edition, preceding even the proof copy in Berlin that Beethoven himself corrected, and also an intermediate uncorrected copy in the Beethoven Center, San José, California: see Patricia Stroh in Notes (2000). Stroh posited the existence of this earlier state from "specters" visible around emendations to the plates on the San José copies and suggested that Beethoven might have been their source.  In fact, the present proof contains engraving errors (corrected in crayon), which are rectified on the plates in the San José and Berlin copies, and so it must be earlier than either.  Among these errors are the missing bass clefs to the right-hand arpeggios on the first two systems of page 38 (emended in the Berlin copy), and missing accidentals, rests and phrasing marks which are corrected in crayon here and rectified on the later states of the plates in both the San José and Berlin copies (bars 222-232 of the first movement of Op.2 no.3; see Stroh, p.305).  Stroh identifies seven states of Artaria's first edition in all, including the first published issue (Hoboken 16).  The first edition is in any case very rare: Stroh (pp.322-323) records only ten copies and we have no record of any appearing at auction for over twenty years. The first edition is easily identified by the corrected spelling of "composées et dediées" ("dedies" on the proofs) on the title page.