Richard Wagner: His Life and Works from 1813-1834.

BURRELL, Mary; Richard Wagner.

Item Number: 4543

London: Engraved and Printed by Allan Wyon, 1898.

First edition. Elephant folio, original half vellum by Birdsall. Number 91 of 100 copies on paper watermarked with Wagner’s signature. Engraved throughout, all leaves mounted on guards, double-page map of Leipzig by Voss dated 1814. In very good condition with some foxing and overall general wear.

An important source for details of Wagner's life. Mary Burrell (1850-1898) acquired a collection of documents from Natalie Bilz, the daughter of Wagner's first wife Minna. This volume contains just the first part of her planned biography, which was published after her death by her husband, Willoughby Burrell. The substantial Burrell collection of Wagner letters was subsequently given to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, who sold them at auction in 1978. As only one hundred copies were printed, it remains an uncommon book.