You are bidding on one handwritten, signed letter of the sculptor Joseph Head (1827-1903), from 1897: Joseph von Kopf.

Very original and humorously written; with unusual orthography, which shows the artist's low school education.

Dated Baden, 27. Sep 1875.

The place name Baden-Baden only became official in 1931. The city was in a state of upheaval at this time; the gambling town turned into a spa town after the gambling ban in 1872.

Transcription:

"My dear new aunt! (August)

List oi you are!

you didn't always write and I'm the first to start. The bust of Reichenbach is finished, yesterday a group of black ladies were with us and cried with joy over 'this similarity to this beautiful reproduction of the original'

my heart is good, and I slept well, and the lamp of life burns happier! – But another bust is already pretty much finished, that of our patriarch Abraham or Isak Herr Mejer. he seems very happy with his slim build. But the head is really splendid, and I'm glad that it's coming to the gallery if it doesn't become WEN one day! – Dear tantchin, how are you? how did you put the loved ones in place and put them back? Under which gods in Oliemp must one register you? about Mercury? – But you are a woman – but not a sister of the psyches whom you unenviously direct the stream of love which gushes like a fireweer over the bridal couple flooding in bliss! - We just had breakfast! The sun is shining on my paper, it is very warm but it also seems to be raining. – Himmelchin{?} has your kl. Stuffed to the brim and very cheerful, Anna with a long robe is also standing next to me, and I just said 'what do you want.' {???}when you think about us?

Yesterday I dined with the empress! she gave me a gold medallion with relief and was extremely gracious! – Soon the glorious Emperor will come to Baden and with him new life, the court will also arrive soon, which will be fun! – Greetings, dear aunt, everyone, starting with the eldest down to {???} down, even Cupid and psiche don't perish in the process! – but from us stuff your pockets full of greens and sweets, of which we will keep a mountain full in our hearts, all your head from Xeno{?}."

I couldn't decipher some of the words; these are marked with three question marks; uncertain readings, on the other hand, with a question mark.

Scope:4 bewritten pages (12.7 x 10.2 cm), i.e. small format; without envelope.

Condition:letter folded; Paper slightly browned. BPlease note also the pictures!

Internal Note: Kief2205-1914

About the author (source: wikipedia):

Joseph Kopf, from 1897 by Kopf (* 10. March 1827 in Unlingen; † 2 February 1903 in Rome) was a German sculptor. Kopf created highly acclaimed naturalistic portrait busts that were commissioned by aristocrats and commoners alike.

Life: The son of a farmer and brick factory owner received his first drawing lessons in elementary school before he had to work in his father's brick factory for 7 years. Already during this time he tried to start an apprenticeship as a stonemason in Riedlingen and the Bavarian Biberach by breaking out. The project succeeded at the age of 21, after which he was trained by stonemasons and grave sculptors in Ravensburg and Bad Waldsee. From 1851 he worked with Anselm Sickinger in Munich, with Philipp Hoffmann in Wiesbaden and with Alois Knittel and Wilhelm Dürr in Freiburg im Breisgau. From there he left on 1. September 1852 on foot in the direction of Rome, where he died on September 13. October 1852 arrived and began to work there. According to Max Jordan, his workshop was the one “which attracted Germans and foreigners the most because of its refinement”.

In 1874, Grand Duke Friedrich I built a studio for the sculptor in Baden-Baden, where he spent the summers. There he modeled famous and rich spa guests. At that time he was friends with the court photographer Wilhelm Kuntzemüller, who served the same clientele. "In 1892, in gratitude for this patronage and inspired by the desire to preserve his work for posterity, Kopf gave the studio and its contents back to the Grand Duke, with the obligation to keep it forever in the state in which it was handed over and to open it to the public three times a week during the summer".

Kopf also put together an exquisite private art collection, the directory of which Ludwig Pollak published in 1905 under the title: Joseph von Kopf as a collector in Rome. Head, however, was already on the 2nd February 1903 died in Rome.

factories

General

The catalog numbers refer to the catalog section of Kratt 1998, pages 141-205.

Gooseman fountain, around 1850, no catalog number, copy: Freiburg im Breisgau, in front of the Adelhauser church.

Four Seasons, from 1857, catalog number 8a (summer), 9a (spring), 10a (autumn), 11b (winter), Stuttgart, formerly Villa Berg, destroyed in the war.

Ingeborg with the falcon, between 1857 and 1873, no catalog number, Stuttgart, formerly Villa Berg, today in the Municipal Lapidarium.

Triton Fountain, 1859, catalog number 12c, originally St. Petersburg, Oranienbaum Palace, whereabouts unknown.

Relief picture by Carl Schnaase, 1866, catalog number 31e, Frankfurt am Main, Städelsches Kunstinstitut.

Two marble fireplaces, 1867, catalog number 23 I and II, partially destroyed, formerly: Stuttgart, New Palace, reclining figures (1998): Bad Wildbad, reserved spa gardens.

Madonna with the Child Jesus, high relief, 1872, no catalog number, Munich, Old Southern Cemetery, family grave of the Pfeffel family.

Bust of the Kaiser Wilhelm monument, 1875, catalog number 54, Baden-Baden, facilities in front of the pump room.

Colossal bust by Carl Schnaase, 1877, catalog number 70b, Berlin, State Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage, National Gallery, object 02520379.

Pietà, 1877, catalog number 37d, Stuttgart, Marienhospital, Alter Marienbau.

Pietà, after 1877, catalog number 37, Karlsruhe, Baden State Museum.

Triton fountain, 1888, catalog number 112a, Berlin, Großer Tiergarten, Großfürstenplatz.

Kaiser Wilhelm I memorial, unveiled on 12. October 1890, catalog number 117, Ravensburg.

Bust of the Empress Augusta monument, erected in 1892, catalog number 124b, Baden-Baden, Lichtentaler Allee.

The artistic legacy of Kopf from his Baden-Baden studio, around 200 portrait reliefs and busts of famous contemporaries and historical personalities, mostly made of plaster, some made of marble, is located in the Baden State Museum in Karlsruhe. Part of it can be seen in the "Baden" collection exhibition.

portrait busts

"more than 15 busts of Kaiser Wilhelm I.”

in the Berlin National Gallery, 1876

in the Berlin National Gallery, 1886

"owned by the former Kaiser Wilhelm II."

as a monument in Baden-Baden (see above)

in the museum in Weimar

in the museum in Stuttgart

as a monument in Ravensburg (see above)

in the lecture room in the Berlin City Palace

Empress Augusta bust, in the Stuttgart Museum

Bust of King Karl and Queen Olga, 1863, private collection

Pope Leo XIII bust - Rome, in the Appartam. Borgia of the Vatican

There are other works by Kopf in Berlin, Rome, Unlingen and on the buses.

Honours: In 1857, Kopf became the court sculptor of Württemberg. In his home town of Unlingen he received honorary citizenship in 1864; the head street there is named after him. He was also awarded the title of professor and the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle. In 1897 he received the Cross of Honor of the Order of the Württemberg Crown.

Estate: Von Kopf's written estate is kept by the main state archive in Stuttgart as inventory Q 2/14: “Personal papers, diaries; Preparatory work for the 'Memoirs of a Sculptor'; Correspondence (especially with clients, friends and acquaintances); Photos of relatives, clients, artists and sculptures by Kopf; enriched by personal papers of the sister of heads, Rosina Pütz nee. Kopf, and biographical publications and newspaper clippings about Josef Kopf".[19]

Studio and factory: Since 1947, the studio building (Werderstraße 2) served as a prayer room for the Jewish community in Baden-Baden. When the studio building was to be used for another purpose, the artistic legacy of Joseph von Kopf, insofar as it was still in the studio, was transferred to the Baden State Museum in 1983. In 1995, in connection with the Sotheby's margrave auction, the Pietà von Kopf, which was exhibited in the chapel of the New Palace in Baden-Baden, was also transferred to the State Museum.

Collection: With his will from 1927, the former Grand Duke Friedrich II. the Kopfsche art collection in Baden-Baden with other collections under the conditions desired by the donor head first bequeathed to his wife and then transferred to the Zähringer Foundation. In the statutes of the foundation from 1954, the Kopfsche art collection, i.e. the studio, is also mentioned. As became known during the Karlsruhe cultural property affair in 2006, the House of Baden disputed the effective transfer of assets to the Zähringer Foundation. In the course of a comprehensive regulation of ownership issues as part of the sale of Salem Castle to the state of Baden-Württemberg in 2009, the House of Baden waived any claims to the objects of the Zähringer Foundation.