The Schatzalp Library
The Schatzalp Library
From the English Collection
The Schatzalp library is a true treasure trove. It contains well over 5000 books in German, French, and English, plus an additional few hundred in languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Rumanian, Swedish, and Russian.
Most books date from the end of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century and are bound in fine red leather. The bulk is devoted to the best which European literature has to offer, from Sophocles to Stendhal, Goethe to Nietzsche, Shakespeare to Calderón.
Essays, librettos, and project drafts by Richard Wagner
Le Livre de Jade: Poems translated from the Chinese by Judith Gautier (with handwritten Chinese name of the author, „Yü-di-de“, bottom left).
Quite a few of these books are rarities prized by collectors. In the German library there is, for example, an entire set of beautifully bound volumes with essays, librettos, and opera projects by the composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
The French library contains an exquisite collection of Chinese poems translated by Judith Gautier, the woman Wagner bombarded with love letters while composing his last opera.
To the delight of history and art history buffs, the library also contains volumes upon volumes of richly illustrated journals, weeklies, and monthlies from the early 20th century (the Art Nouveau period) as well as a variety of yearbooks and scientific journals.
Illustrated Journal from the beginning of the 20th century
Japan-Essays, Ghost Stories („Kwaidan“) and Novels by Lafcadio Hearn
An entire section is devoted to political and cultural world history. Apart from scientific studies, it also includes historical novels, biographies, and memoirs. Some important works (such as Jacob Burkhardt’s famous study on the Renaissance) are present in several languages. And there are some exotic gems: for example Lafcadio Hearn’s fascinating Japanese ghost stories from the end of the 19th century …
The collection is rounded off by reference works for the curious: dictionaries, geographical maps, lexica, and encyclopaedias: historical gems from the treasure of the Schatzalp library.
Compiled by Prof. Monica Esposito and Prof. Urs App on the occasion of their visit to the Schatzalp in August 2003.