Beethoven, Ludwig van.

apparently a covering letter for one to Therese Malfatti, the probable dedicatee of Beethoven's "Für Elise", complaining about the late hour and regretting not to be in his friend's company, mentioning that he will see him on Wednesday, stating that the enclosed letter is written for the whole world to see [i.e. it contains nothing compromising], and observing that he should find another envelope if he thinks that the present one is not clean enough, it being at the moment too dark for him to tell



...Der Brief ist so geschrieben, daß ihn die ganze Welt lesen kann - findest du das Papier von dem Umschlag nicht rein genug, so mach ein andres drum, bej der Nacht kann ich nicht ausnehmen ob's rein ist...



1 page, c.18.8 x 22cm, no place or date, [Vienna, towards the end of May 1810], light creasing, light spotting, splitting along folds, old repair to verso; together with an autograph letter to William Reeves, and an autograph translation and transcription of the letter, by Emily Anderson 

Briefwechsel Gesamtausgabe, ii 443; Anderson, i 200; see also Anderson, i, p.115 n. 1

Barry Cooper (ed.), The Beethoven Compendium (London, 1996), p.49 

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."

this is a discovery of a lost letter of Beethoven.

Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein (1778-1828), a talented cellist and Secretary in the Imperial War Department in Vienna, was one of Beethoven's closest friends. To him the composer dedicated one of his finest chamber works, the A-major cello sonata, Op. 69, published by Breitkopf in April 1809. In 1811, Gleichenstein married Anna Malfatti, niece of the physician Giovanni Malfatti and younger sister of Therese Malfatti, to whom Beethoven is believed to have proposed marriage in 1810. The suggestion that Gleichenstein was to deliver a letter to Therese (one-time possessor of the autograph score of Für Elise), originally enclosed with this letter, is made in Sieghard Brandenburg's edition of Beethoven's letters, Briefwechsel Gesamtausgabe, ii 443 (1996), p.124 (letter 442 is possibly Beethoven's letter to Therese).  

Briefwechsel Gesamtausgabe, ii, p.124 describes the autograph of this letter as unknown. The text of the letter in that edition consequently varies in a number of points from the autograph.