Beethoven, Ludwig van

first London edition, folio (33.5 x 24.5cm), [2], 23 & [1] pages, watermark date "1823", engraved throughout, verso of title blank, a fine clear copy, disbound

A. Tyson: The Authentic English Editions of Beethoven (1963), pp.117-118; Dorfmüller, p.340; Kinsky, p.316; not in Hoboken

Rare: there are four copies in British institutions, but none recorded outside the UK.  This is an important early edition, apparently incorporating Beethoven's corrections.  Tyson suggests that Beethoven may have sent corrections himself, as Clementi's is a careful edition, correcting errors in those published in Paris and Vienna the previous year.  Beethoven wrote to Ries that "the English publisher, if he engraves it too, can announce his edition as the correct one" (25 April 1823). Clementi's edition is already advertised on Moritz Schlesinger's title page.