PUBLISHER S Lavater Correspondence The ... - IDC Publishers

Letters from Lavater's works estate and other holdings
Beside the actual correspondence, other letters have been included in the microfiche publication,. These
concern letters that are contained in Lavater's works estate (FA Lav, Ms.. 15-208), the Lavater family archive
and other Zurich family archives (FA Lav. 1741, 1743, 1768, FA Escher vom Glas, FA Hess, FA Hirzel, FA
Nuscheler) or stored in holdings such as Emil Bebler's autograph collection, the letter collection of the
Zentralbibliothek, the letters to Johann Jakob Bodmer, the collection groups of the former Municipal Library
(Ms.. A, E, M, V) and the Zentralbibliothek (Ms. Z), as well as the Lavateriana of the Hanselmann collection
that was received as a gift (Lav. H 1001-1002). 'The concordance provides information about the addressees
and the fiche-numbers. As all other letters, these letters were integrated in the registers alphabetically or
were listed under unknown.
Microfiches and table of contents
The microfiches follow the sequence of the shelf marks of the correspondence volumes and portfolios (to
and from Lavater and unknown). The remaining collections follow the letters from Lavater's works estate in
alphabetical order: FA Lav. Ms.. 15-208, Autogr. Bebler - Ms. Z 113023, with a few addenda,: FA Lav. Ms.. 26 -
FA Nuscheler 468a and Ms.. V 411.. The family letters, which have their own register (C), are at the end (FA
Lav. Ms.. 600-606).. The table of contents and the table of microfiche numbers provide the best help when
searching through the microfiches..
All of the information was researched as carefully as possible within an acceptable amount of time. This
information is, however, generally to be understood as a reference and has to be checked in each specific
case using the microfiches.
Although we did successfully allocate an impressive number of letters, a lot of questions could not be
answered within the time available. Our priority has been to make the complete correspondence held at the
manuscript department- as well as the numerous copies/duplicates and excerpts/extracts - available for
research as soon as possible. The manuscript department is, with regard to the desirable flow of
information, always thankful for additional information, and is always happy to respond to inquiries. The
indices are maintained and updated internally.
Additional information about the collections (cf. the home page of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich,
Spezialsammlungen/Handschriftenabteilung, www.zb.unizh.ch):
Gagliardi, Ernst, and Ludwig Forrer. Neuere Handschriften seit 1500. Einleitung and Register von Jean-Pierre Bodmer Zurich 1931-
1982 (Katalog der Handschriften der Zentralbibliothek Zurich 11). Darin: Verzeichnis des Nachlasses von Johann Caspar Lavater (FA
Lav. Ms. 1-606) nach Signaturen, Spalten 1535-1566.
Bodmer, Jean-Pierre. Familienarchive. Zurich 1996 (Katalog der Handschriften der Zentralbibliothek Zurich 111). Darin: Verzeichnis des
Familienarchivs Lavater (FA Lav. 1-20, FA Lav. 1492-FA Lav 1849), Spalten 337-378, and des ins Familienarchiv eingegliederten
Nachlasses von Johann Caspar Lavater nach Sachgruppen, Spalten 342-363.
Bodmer, Jean-Pierre Die Handschriften-Abteilung der Zentralbibliothek Zurich, in: Zurcher Taschenbuch auf das Jahr 1973, Zurich
1972, S.. 84-113..
Particularly, we would like to point out the historical-critical edition of selected works of Lavater that is currently being worked on, cf..
www, la vater., unizh,. ch:
Johann Caspar Lavater, Aussichten in die Ewigkeit, 1768-1773/78, hrsg von Ursula Caflisch-Schnetzler, Zurich 2001 (Ausgewahlte
Werke, Band 2)
Bibliographie der Werke Lavaters, hrsg von Horst Weigelt, Redaktion Niklaus Landolt, Zurich 2001 (Ausgewahlte Werke,
Erganzungsband)
A number of letters in Lavater's microfilmed correspondence provide an interesting insight into his contacts
in the world of art, publishing and collectors. The catalog of the Austrian National Library at Vienna provides
the best overview of Lavater's famous Graphic Cabinet, which had already been acclaimed during his
lifetime. The library's portrait collection contains almost the entire cabinet, which, unfortunately, had to be
sold after Lavater's death, with its more than 22,000 drawings, watercolours, prints and miniature paintings,
works of art from the 16 -18 centuries, amongst others from Christoph Murer, Domenico Tintoretto, Daniel
Chodowiecki, portraits and silhouettes, primarily by Swiss artists such as Johann Heinrich Lips, Johann
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