With fascinating signed letter by Gilbert on Schopenhauer and music

Katharine Everett Gilbert; Helmut Kuhn

A History of Esthetics [Inscribed and Signed by Gilbert with Typed Letter, Signed, Laid in] [Henry W. Johnstone, Jr.'s Copy]

New York: Macmillan Company, 1939. Very Good. Item #14174

New York: Macmillan Company, 1939. First Edition. Octavo; publisher's green cloth, front cover and spine stamped in black and gilt; xx,[2],582pp. Cloth a bit discolored at extremities and spine, corners very gently tapped, later (1990) ownership signature to front free endpaper, textblock a shade toned, else Very Good and sound. Inscribed and signed on front free endpaper, "With the regards & pleasant association of Katharine Gilbert," along with the ownership rubberstamp of American philosopher Henry W. Johnstone, Jr. (1920-2000).

Offered together with a two-page typed letter, signed by Gilbert and addressed to Johnstone's mother, dated May 15, 1950, on Duke University letterhead. In the letter Gilbert recalls running into Henry W. Johnstone, Jr., "at Worcester at Christmastime and we exchanged greetings through him." Gilbert goes on to address Johnstone mère's "little request...You asked me for a list of musical compositions that would fit Schopenhauer's philosophy of music." Gilbert first offers that philosopher's own musical tastes ("He preferred the music of Rossini and Mozart above all"); refers to Wagner's own admiration for Schopenhauer; and advises Johsntone to dip into Carroll Pratt's "The Meaning of Music." The letter concludes with a list of eight compositions that Gilbert believed to be "fairly good as illustrative of Schopenhauer's view," including pieces by the aforementioned Mozart and Wagner, as well as Brahms' Second Symphony, Beethoven's "Eroica," Bach's Fugue in G Minor, and Schumann's "In der Nacht."

Price: $150.00