Mark Funke, Bookseller, has created an exceptional catalogue of The Rare Book Collection of Dr. Felix Guggenheim. Guggenheim was a German publisher and founder of the German Book Association in the 1930s. It enabled him to avoid confrontation with the Nazi regime despite being Jewish. The organization simply ignored the Nazis. He traveled to America in 1938 where friends warned him not to return. Instead, he went to Switzerland, brought his family there, then moved to Britain and finally the United States in 1940.
In America, he had many connections with the German exile community that settled in Los Angeles. His literary connections and friendships with exiled German authors enabled him to form his publishing company, the Pazifische Presse (Pacific Press). The press closed a few years after the war, but Guggenheim became involved in a couple of business ventures, notably plastics manufacturing and farming, but his major occupation was as a literary agent for German authors. Guggenheim lived until 1976. His book collection apparently remained with his family until recently uncovered by Mark Funke.
Guggenheim's collection is broken into two sections in Funke's catalogue. The first part comes from his Judaica and anti-Semitism collection. The other is of Germanistic works. These are a few examples from those collections.
The most notable Jewish philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages, perhaps ever, was Moses Ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or sometimes the RamBam. His writings are still highly influential to Jewish thought today. He not only influenced Jewish thought but Islamic as well. He lived in the Islamic world and was something of a polymath. He was a physician and personally attended to Islamic leader Saladin. This book is entitled Moreh Nevuchim (Guide to the Perplexed). It was written between 1185-1190. It is the first printed and only incunable edition of the book, and one of the first books printed in Hebrew, around 1469-1472. This is an imperfect copy, about 20 leaves missing. It has two Italian censor's marks in it, one dated 1613, and many copies are missing pages because they were removed by censors. There are marginal notes by one section, likely from the late 15th or early 16th century, criticizing unnamed philosophers for claiming Maimonides believed all religions were at their core the same, a view the writer evidently did not share. Item 17. Priced at $85,000.
A little over a millennium before Maimonides was the time of this next writer, Flavius Josephus. His book is Antiquitates Judaicae (Antiquity of the Jews). Josephus lived in Judea in Roman times and was a general during the first Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire in 66 CE. He and his men were defeated. Josephus might have been expected to commit suicide but instead saved his life by surrendering. He might still have expected death but told his captor, Vespasian, he had a vision that the latter would become Emperor. He was held captive until his prophesy could be evaluated, which came when Vespasian acceded to the throne. He thereby received high recognition among the royalty, adopting the family's name “Flavius.” He became a citizen of Rome. As such, he received a mixed reputation among Jews, from being a moderating force and representative to the Romans, to being a turncoat. Josephus wrote two particularly notable works, this one and another specifically about the Jewish revolts. This book purports to tell the history of the Jews from the Creation up the the then present time. It is the most complete early Jewish history outside of the Bible, though like that book, not everything he writes is necessarily literal truth. It is most useful for accounts more contemporary with Josephus' time, but even then, much is based on what he heard, rather than eyewitness accounts. Still, there are practically no other historical accounts from that time. This is a second Venetian and sixth overall printing of the Latin translation of Josephus' work. Item 7. $2,950.
After the Jews were driven from their homeland by the Romans, they settled in numerous lands, some of which became predominantly Christian. Relations were strained at times, but in some lands it turned to outright hatred, demonization, and terrible crimes. In the middle of this demonization was one of the most notable and otherwise respected figures of Protestant Christianity, Martin Luther. Luther had already antagonized the leaders of the Catholic Church before targeting his wrath on Jews. He had found immorality and self-serving behavior among church leaders, leading him to believe salvation came through faith in Jesus without any need for intercession by the Catholic Church. The church responded with excommunication. At the time, Luther was still favorably inclined toward Jews. He saw them as brothers who needed to be taught the way to salvation so they would convert to Christianity. For years he tried to convert them, but successes were few, and the more Jews refused to give up their own faith, the angrier he became. This next book was published in 1543, three years before he died. The title is Von den Juden und jren Lugen (On the Jews and their Lies). It is a virulently anti-Semitic book. Luther advocated expelling the Jews from Germany, confiscation of property, burning of synagogues. He called Jews devil-worshippers. His words could be seen as, if not outright encouraging the killing of Jews, providing justification for such behavior. His words would be used centuries later by the Nazis to support their views. Item 14. $8,500.
Next is a collection of all eleven limited edition books published by the Pazifische Press. All but one is inscribed to Dr. Guggenheim. This is obviously a one-of-a-kind masterpiece for anyone who collects the Pacific Press or German books published in America. The authors and the number of their books are Thomas Mann (3), Franz Werfel (2), Bruno Frank (1), Leonhard Frank (1), Alfred Neumann (1), Friedrich Torberg (1), Alfred Doblin (1), Lion Feuchtwanger (1). Here are some of their inscriptions (translated from the original German).
Thomas Mann: “To Felix Guggenheim! When the two of us work together it must be good!”
Franz Werfel: “Felix Guggenheim. In sincere gratitude for the idea and the flawless implementation of this nice project.”
Alfred Neumann: “To Felix Guggenheim, the German book community siren-caller into the emigrant desert: [we award] a special new medal for bravery for being the caller, for the merit, for the know-how and for the bound splendor.”
Friedrich Torberg: “Felix Guggenheim. To the continuation and perfection of that sublime line of printing art that began with Gutenberg, also with a capital G...”
Bruno Frank wrote out the lines of a poem he first called 1919. The only book not inscribed is the second one from Franz Wurfel, who died during the galley proofreading. Item 26. $25,000.
This is a writer we associate with the American South, not Germany, but her book was so popular it warranted several German translation editions. Published in Berlin, the title is Vom Winde Verweht. You know it better as “Gone with the Wind.” It was one of several editions published in 1937. This is the scarcest of the 1937 editions. It is accompanied by two typed letters signed. The first is from the author to Felix Guggenheim. It is on her letterhead and she has signed not just Margaret Mitchell as usual, but with her full married name, Margaret Mitchell Marsh. The letter is dated September 20, 1938. Mitchell writes, “My dear Doctor Guggenheim: Miss Marion Saunders sent me the beautiful two-volume set of the German edition of 'Gone with the Wind' and, needless to say I am delighted with it. You were so very generous to send me this lovely gift... My family and all my friends who have had the pleasure of examining the book are loud in their praise. Cordially, Margaret Mitchell Marsh.”
The second signed typed letter is dated October 5, 1956 to Felix Guggenheim on the letterhead of the Mitchell estate. It is signed by Stephens Mitchell. Stephens Mitchell was an attorney and Margaret Mitchell's brother. Evidently in response to a letter from Guggenheim, Stephens says he remembers the edition Guggenheim presented to his sister. “These volumes are now in the Margaret Mitchell Memorial Room at the Atlanta Public Library.” Item 48. $2,950.
Mark Funke Bookseller may be reached at 206-632-1535 or mark@funkebooks.com. Their website is found at www.funkebooks.com.
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