Haydn, Joseph.

with autograph inscriptions above the music "Divertimento a tre per il corno di caccia...In nomine Domine",  notated on two systems per page of three staves each, comprising two movements: a theme and variations and  a "Finale Allegro di molto", a working manuscript with deletions and alterations, including a revised passage of five bars written on the free staves of the third page



8 pages, oblong folio (c.23 x 32cms), 8-stave paper, with, on another leaf, an early nineteenth-century account of the manuscript, signed "Pr[inster] senior", 1767, trace of guard, some spotting, a little light staining 

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 complete work by Haydn:  We have no record of any similarly substantial autograph manuscript by Haydn appearing at auction for over ten years.  

This is the only source for this unusual early Horn Trio: there is no other contemporary manuscript for the work, which remained unpublished until 1957.  It is evidently a composing manuscript, showing his fluency in completing the whole work in a single draft.

Haydn apparently wrote this  Horn Trio for Thaddeus Steinmüller, principal horn-player at Esterházy 1762-1772. Along with the manuscript, there is an early nineteenth-century record of its provenance by another horn player [Johann] Prinster "senior", who was also closely connected with Haydn.  Prinster's daughter Therese married Haydn's principal copyist Johann Elssler and his sons Anton and Michael Prinster played in the first performances of Haydn's six last Masses.

Hoboken's description of this work (1957) was incomplete: he recorded the opening eighteen-bar theme, but not  the subsequent set of  three variations (56 bars).  They are however published in H.C. Robbins Landon's edition (1957), which includes the editor's added dynamics, cadenza and "ossia" sections, not present in this manuscript.  The second movement is marked "Finale", an Allegro molto of eighty-six bars.