48 - Petiscus, Johann Conrad Wilhelm

Petiscus, Johann Conrad Wilhelm A Selection of Moral Sermons for Reflective Readers. Berlin: Mylius, 1794. 2 leaves (title page, dedication), XXVIII, 389 (1, errata) pp. Contemporary calf leather binding with gold-stamped Title on a small leather label, lavish gilt decoration on the spine, gold-stamped fillets on the covers and edges, endpapers of multicolored ring-marbled paper, gold-edged pages on the reverse, and a ribbon bookmark (with a light edge, scuffed and worn). First edition of the original publication. Not listed in the KVK or VD18; no historical evidence of its existence in the trade. — This work is not mentioned in the biographical and bibliographical references (Goedeke/Goetze 8.III., p. 11, and Schilling, *Encyclopedia of the Entire Musical Sciences*, Vol. V (1837), p. 431). Mentioned in *Allg. Literatur-Zeitung*, 1795, Vol. 4, No. 302, p. 304. - Johann Conrad Wilhelm Petiscus (1763–1825) was a Reformed clergyman, music writer, and prose author. From 1790 onward, this versatile scholar served as a pastor in Brandenburg an der Havel. A selection of his sermons is included in this volume. In 1808, Petiscus made a name for himself as a music writer with the essay “Treatise on the Violin.” He also revised Leopold Mozart’s violin method and translated the French violin method by Rode and Baillot into German. - Provenance: On the verso of the title page is a stamp from the Royal Joachimsthal Gymnasium (dissolved in 1956) as a bequest from the Prussian Minister of Justice Friedrich Wilhelm von Thulemeier (1735–1811): “Gymnasio Reg: Joachim: Bequest: From the illustrations: Thulemeiero,” to whom the volume is also dedicated in print. (On the bequest: Köpke, F. C.: History of the Library of the Royal Joachimsthal Gymnasium … Berlin, 1831, pp. 22ff.) - Title page has slight foxing in places; endpapers are slightly browned throughout and, together with the text pages, show slight glue stains; otherwise, a well-preserved copy of this extremely rare Berlin edition with attractive contemporary colored papers as endpapers. First edition of the first publication. Not listed in the KVK or VD18; no historical evidence of its existence in the trade. Bound in contemporary calf with rich gold tooling and superb multicolored shell-marbled paper. - For references, see above. - Johann Conrad Wilhelm Petiscus (1763–1825) was a Reformed clergyman, music writer, and prose author. Beginning in 1790, this versatile scholar served as a preacher in Brandenburg an der Havel. A selection of his sermons is included in this volume. In 1808, Petiscus made a name for himself as a music writer with the essay “Abhandlung über die Violine” (Treatise on the Violin). He also revised Leopold Mozart’s violin method and translated the French violin method by Rode and Baillot into German. - Provenance: The verso of the title page bears the stamp of the Royal Joachimsthal Grammar School (dissolved in 1956) as a bequest from the Prussian Minister of Justice Friedrich Wilhelm von Thulemeier (1735–1811): "Gymnasio Reg: Joachim: Legat: Ab Illustr: Thulemeiero," to whom the volume is also dedicated in print. - The title page is slightly foxed in places; the endpapers are slightly browned throughout, with slight binder’s glue stains on the paste-downs; otherwise, this is a well-preserved copy of this extremely rare Berlin edition, featuring attractive contemporary colored decorative papers as endpapers.