Jena, Germany: Eugen Diederichs, 1908. 3 volumes in German. Approximately 4 3/4 x 7 1/2". Red cloth over boards, gilt lettering and design stamped crisply on spine, top edges gilt, illustrated endpapers, ribbons intact, some minor rubbing and wear, 1 portrait, 2 facsimiles and 26 hand drawings by Goethe on mounted panels, in near fine condition.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) was a German writer and statesman. His writings were diverse and included poetry, prose, dramas, memoirs, criticisms, treatises on some sciences, letters, and an autobiography. A friend to the Duke of Save-Weimar, Goethe went to live in Weimar where he met Charlotte von Stein in 1776. She was an older, married woman but they had an intimate bond which lasted for ten years. Von Stein was a lady-in-waiting at the court in Weimar and a close friend to both Friedrich Schiller and von Goethe, whose work and life were strongly influenced by her. Geothe abruptly abandoned Charlotte without telling her anything and she was heartbroken although they eventually reconciled. This work of 3 volumes is separated into distinct time periods - Vol 1: 1776 - 1780, Vol 2: 1781 - 1784, Vol 3: 175-85 - 1826.