Christian Morgenstern Correspondence Collection
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains numerous letters, postcards and other correspondence from Christian Morgenstern to Ephraim and Fega Frisch. Morgenstern knew the Frischs before they got married, and exchanged frequent letters with them over the years. The letters discuss personal topics, health conditions and work matters amongst other things. Morgenstern also included poems, which were partially published in his literary estate.
Dates
- 1897-1914
- Majority of material found in 1903, 1906-1907
Creator
- Morgenstern, Christian, 1871-1914 (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Biographical Note
Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was born in Munich on May 6, 1871, as the son of the painter Carl Ernst Morgenstern and his wife Charlotte, née Schertel. He went to schools in Hamburg and in Breslau (today Wrocław, Poland), where he started to write his first verses and texts. In 1892 he enrolled at the University of Breslau, and he spent the summer semester 1893 in Munich, where he caught tuberculosis. In the fall he returned to Breslau, but his bad health forced him to end his university studies.
Up until this time he had been engaged in literature studies of his own, and when he moved to Berlin in 1894, he started working as a freelance writer, editor and journalist for newspapers, publishing his first volume of poems in 1895. In 1903, he returned to Berlin, where he worked among others at the Bruno Cassirer Verlag and published more of his poetry. He married Margareta Gosebruch and went through many treatments at various health resorts, attended numerous lectures of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy, and studied Buddhism. In 1914 his condition took a turn for the worst, and on March 31st Morgenstern died in Merano in South Tyrol (today Italy).
Extent
0.25 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection mainly consists of letters and postcards from Christian Morgenstern to Ephraim and Fega Frisch, née Lifschitz. Some clippings and poems are also included.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in one series.
- Title
- Guide to the Correspondence of Christian Morgenstern 1897-1914 AR 3466
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Alexandra Weinschenker
- Date
- © 2014
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from ChristianMorgenstern_Correspondence.xml
Revision Statements
- June 2016:: dao links added by Emily Andresini.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository