Early Lessing aphorism from occupied Leipzig
Autograph album leaf signed.
Oblong small 8vo (146 × 83 mm). 1 p.
€ 15.000,00
Album entry from Lessing’s early Leipzig years during Prussian occupation in the Seven Years’ War, presenting a pithy maxim on money and its spenders, subscribed with his signature and remembrance formula. The concise aphorism reads: "Geld und Gut muß zwei Schelme haben: Einen, der’s gewinnt, und einen, der’s verthut. / Hiermit empfiehlt sich Ihrem Andenken / Lessing" ("There are always two knaves involved with wealth: one who wins it and one who wastes it. Thus I recommend myself to your memory, Lessing").
A characteristic witness to Lessing’s sociable epistolary and album culture in mid-eighteenth-century Leipzig, combining wit with the social currency of the Stammbuch tradition. A rare survival of a signed album leaf from this early phase of Lessing’s career.
Two tiny wormholes not affecting text; slight dust soiling. Well preserved overall.
