E. T. A. Hoffmann

Second to the Berlin State Library, the Bamberg State Library owns the world's largest collection of books by and about the Romantic writer, draftsman, and composer E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776–1822), who lived in Bamberg from 1808 to 1813.

Collection
Digital Collections
Literature

Self portrait. E. T. A. Hoffmann's Gesicht in profile instead of his signature on a letter to Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel, Berlin, 22th May 1821 | SBB, Autogr. H 31

Karl Wilhelm Unzelmann as Pasquin in Nicolo Isouard's singspiel "Michel Angelo." Pen-and-ink drawing painted with opaque colours by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Berlin, 1808 | SBB, I R 67

Gottfried Christian Kaselitz as Doctor Bartolo in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro." Pen-and-ink drawing painted with opaque colours by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Berlin, 1808 | SBB, I R 64

A group of eight men belonging to Bamberg's "BürgerMilitair." Caricature by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Bamberg, 29th April 1809 | SBB, I R 63

A self portrait by E. T. A. Hoffmann, hidden in his caricaturing depiction of Bamberg's "BürgerMilitair." Bamberg, 29 April 1809 | SBB, I R 63

Self portrait. E. T. A. Hoffmann with pipe and punch cup in his armchair. Illustration on a letter to Ludwig Devrient, Berlin, 9th January 1821 | SBB, Autogr. H 66

Page with the "writings" of tomcat Murr, labelled "Kater Murr" by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Berlin, 1818–1821 | SBB, EvS.G H 4/1 (Deposit of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation)

Card with pre-printed black border containing Tomcat Murr's obituary, written by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Berlin, 1st December 1821 | SBB, EvS.G H 4/2 (Deposit of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation)

Middle-aged man sitting at a table. Pen-and-ink drawing by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Berlin, 1816–1818 | SBB, EvS.G H 1 (Deposit of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation)

"Wo bist du hin / Mein Hoffnungsstern?" (Where have you gone to / my star of hope?) Song of Journeyman Friedrich in E. T. A. Hoffmann's script of his story "Master Martin, the Cooper, and his Journeymen," Berlin, 1817/18 | SBB, Msc.Add.22, p. 17

E. T. A. Hoffmann, in the manner of Dante's Vergil, shows the landscape around Bamberg to the physician Dr Adalbert Friedrich Marcus. Painting with opaque colours by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Bamberg, 1809–1813 | SBB, I T 80

The Bamberg physician Dr Christian Pfeufer examines the tip of Carl Friedrich Kunz's tongue; E. T. A. Hoffmann is painting the scene. Etching by August Hoffmann according to a lost pencil drawing by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Stuttgart, 1839 | SBB, L.g.o.390(2, before p. 331

Self-portrait as Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler in his homewear. Pen-and-ink drawing painted with opaque colours by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Berlin, 1815 | SBB, I R 65

"E. T. W. Hoffmann." Signature on the title page of a piano arrangement of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" from 1791| SBB, Mus.85-a, p. 1

Winged cup. Line etching after a lost pen-and-ink drawing by E. T. A. Hoffmann from 7th October 1812, found in the margins of an entry in his diary. Berlin, 1915 | SBB, L.g.o.391-c(1, p. XCVII

Coppelius appears in the house of Nathanael's father. Illustration for the short story "The Sandman." Facsimile print according to a lost pen-and-ink drawing by E. T. A. Hoffmann from 1815, Berlin, 1825 | SBB, ETA.Art.f.23-ga, Tafel 35a

A gentleman on a draisienne. Facsimile print according to a lost caricature by E. T. A. Hoffmann from 1818, Berlin, 1825| SBB, ETA.Art.f.23-ga, Tafel 18

Draft for wall decorations for the Altenburg in Bamberg. Facsimile print according to a lost pen-and-ink drawing by E. T. A. Hoffmann from 1811, Berlin, 1825 | SBB, ETA.Art.f.23-ga, Tafel 2

Experience E. T. A. Hoffmann

in the Bamberg Treasures

in the E.T.A. Hoffmann Portal

in the E.T.A. Hoffmann House

Collection

The basis of the Bamberg collection of Hoffmanniana stems from donations by private collectors and the E.T.A. Hoffmann Society, which was founded in 1938 in Bamberg. The collection of primary sources and secondary research literature in the Bamberg State Library is constantly growing and is available for research. Works showing the reception of Hoffmann, such as drawings and prints created by modern artists, are also being acquired.

Hoffmann's handwritten works and documents were made available online by the Bamberg State Library. This includes numerous letters from and to Hoffmann; 16 original drawings (three of them on letters); five manuscripts and parts of manuscripts; three death notices for his fictitious tomcat, Murr; and an autograph score and two transcriptions of Hoffmann's musical works. In addition, the library preserves some archival documents: a publishing contract; a diary fragment and a job application; three dedications in books; a signature in the piano score of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni"; and the only surviving book from Hoffmann's library. Furthermore, there is a receipt signed by Hoffmann's wife, Maria Thekla Michaelina, and the entry for E. T. A. Hoffmann in the Death Registry of the Evangelical Jerusalem Community in Berlin.

Digital Collections

The autographs, drawings, and music by E. T. A. Hoffmann in the holdings of the Bamberg State Library have been completely digitized and are freely accessible via the digital collection Bamberg Treasures. The online presentation not only includes detailed information on the individual documents but also transcriptions of the autographs. It is possible to run a full-text search, to download digital images and to use them under the Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0. All works are recorded in Kalliope, the national database for modern papers and autographs.

The E.T.A. Hoffmann Portal links the Bamberger materials to the holdings of other institutions. It was initiated by the Berlin State Library, which preserves a comprehensive archive of letters, music, and drawings by E. T. A. Hoffmann as well as printed editions of his works.

Literature

Müller, Hans von (ed.): Handzeichnungen E. T. A. Hoffmanns in Faksimiledruck. Reprint of the edition Berlin 1925. Hildesheim, 1973 (catalog).

Riemer, Elke: E. T. A. Hoffmann und seine Illustratoren. 2. ed. Hildesheim, 1978 (catalog).

Schemmel, Bernhard: Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Handschriften, Buchdruck um 1500 in Bamberg, E. T. A. Hoffmann. Bamberg, 1990, pp. 118–148 (digitized version).

Schemmel, Bernhard: Die E.-T.-A.-Hoffmann-Sammlung der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Rezeption E. T. A. Hoffmanns in Bamberg. In: Bibliotheksforum Bayern 6 (1978), pp. 167–187. Continued as: Neue Hoffmanniana der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg. In: Mitteilungen der E.T.A. Hoffmann-Gesellschaft 32 (1986), S. 12–19 and in: E.T.A. Hoffmann-Jahrbuch 2 (1994), pp. 7–16 and in: E.T.A. Hoffmann-Jahrbuch 10 (2002), pp. 10–30.

Ponert, Dietmar J.: E. T. A. Hoffmann – Das bildkünstlerische Werk. Ein kritisches Gesamtverzeichnis. 2 vols. Petersberg, 2012 (vol. 1: digitized version, vol. 2: catalog).

Schemmel, Bernhard: In Hoffmanno! E. T. A. Hoffmann, Haus, Gesellschaft. Ein Beitrag zur Rezeptionsgeschichte. Bamberg, 2013 (digitized version).

Schemmel, Bernhard: E. T. A. Hoffmann gesammelt. Eine Geschichte Bamberger Bestände in Einzelbeispielen. Bamberg, 2019 (digitized version).