Autograph letter signed "Humboldt".
Small 8vo. 1 p. on bifolium. With autograph address and traces of seal.
€ 1,500.00
To the German oriental scholar and archaeologist Friedrich Eduard Schulz (1799-1829), requesting a meeting. Apparently, Schulz had attempted to visit Humboldt the previous day, but the two men had missed each other by a few minutes. In his charming letter, Humboldt announces a return visit in order to apologize for "the imprudent pedantry of my new doorman" and to embrace Schulz before his departure: "Un malheureux hazard [!] a voulu que je suis rentré hier quelques minutes après Vous, mon cher et excellent ami, et que par l'imprudente pédanterie de mon nouveau Portier Vous n'avez pu entrer chez moi. Permettez que je me présente demain matin (Samedi) à dix heures chez Vous, pour Vous faire mes excuses et pour Vous embrasser avant Votre départ [...]".
After studies in Göttingen and Gießen, Schulz relocated to Paris in 1823 to deepen his knowledge of oriental languages. In Paris he was in contact with important scholars such as Alexander von Humboldt and Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy. The letter at hand was probably written ahead of Schulz' departure, in 1826, on a scientific expedition of several years to Asia Minor and Persia. The rediscovery of the Kingdom of Urartu and its language are largely due to this expedition. The expedition ended in tragedy when Schulz and his companions were assassinated in the Kurdish town Baskale. Some of his important records, including copies of 42 inscriptions from the Van Fortress, were later recovered and published.
With a minor tear from breaking the seal.
