23 - Music - Krauss, Karl. Two guest books belonging to the court bookseller and concert agent in Kaiserslautern. Containing over 150 handwritten entries, primarily by contemporary singers, soloists, ensemble members, and conductors, many of which include musical quotations. Mostly Kaiserslautern or Ludwigshafen, 1903–1941. 75; 74 leaves (mostly written on one side, a few blank) as well as numerous inserts (letters, portrait cards, newspaper clippings, etc.). 23 x 17.5 cm and 24 x 19 cm. Original leather bindings (slightly scuffed).

Music - Krauss, Karl. Two guest books belonging to the court bookseller and concert agent in Kaiserslautern. Containing over 150 handwritten entries, primarily by contemporary singers, soloists, ensemble members, and conductors, many of which include musical quotations. Mostly Kaiserslautern or Ludwigshafen, 1903–1941. 75; 74 leaves (mostly written on one side, a few blank) as well as numerous inserts (letters, portrait cards, newspaper clippings, etc.). 23 x 17.5 cm and 24 x 19 cm. Original leather bindings (slightly scuffed). According to the enclosed obituary notice with a newspaper obituary, Krauß died in 1942 at the age of 71. A bookseller by profession, he ran the “Rheingold” concert agency, which brought numerous renowned musicians of the time to Rhineland-Palatinate. Krauß was also actively involved in the life of the city; among other things, he spearheaded the establishment of the Gelterswoog beach resort, which still exists today (a typescript of his opening speech is included). Some of the entries are accompanied by brief notes from the owner. Many artists have embellished their signatures with dedications or musical quotes. Included are, among others: Singers: tenor Peters Anders, baritone Hans Bahling, soprano Erna Berger, bass Carl Braun, actress and lieder singer Agnes Delsarto, soprano Clara Ebers, tenor Karl Erb (2 entries), sopranos Helene Fahrni and Elisabeth Feuge (entry and possibly an enclosed letter with a note), the alto-soprano Marta Fuchs, the baritones Georg Hann and Gerhard Hüsch, the soprano Maria Ivogün, the tenor Julius Katona, the sopranos Annie König-Bomatsch, Tiana Lemnitz, and Martha Martensen (2 entries, one with colleagues performing Beethoven’s Ninth), tenors Helmut Melchert (2 entries, both with Edith Laux, among others) and Julius Patzak (2 entries), soprano Erika Rokyta, tenor Helge Rosvaenge (with Ernst Cremer), soprano Erna Sack (4 entries, one on a portrait postcard), German-American baritone Carl Schiffeler “on my first concert in my homeland” (1929), soprano Rosalind von Schirach (alone and with conductor Ernst Cremer), contralto Else Schürhoff, contralto Enid Szantho (inset: “With love,” dated and signed portrait postcard), soprano Berthe von Vigier, tenor Georg A. Walter, bass Rudolf Watzke (2 entries), contralto Luise Willer, and tenor Ludwig Wüllner. - Instrumental soloists: violinists Lilia d’Albore, Walther Barylli, and Elisabeth Bischoff; pianists Alexander Borovsky and Dorothea Braus; violinist Adolf Busch, individually and with pianist Rudolf Serkin; cellist Gaspar Cassado with a musical excerpt, violinist Hedwig Fassbaender, organist Herbert Haag, violinist Caecilia Hansen, cellist Maurits Frank, pianist Alfred Hoehn, cellist Ludwig Hoelscher, pianist Willy Koester, violinist Georg Kulenkampff, pianist Frieda Kwast-Hodapp, pianist Frederic Lamond (with musical excerpt), violinist Edith Lorand, pianist Poldi Mildner, violinist Viola Mitchell, pianist Elly Ney (2 entries), pianist Josef Pembaur (2 entries), violinist Vasa Prihoda with pianist Charles Cerné and again with Otto Graef, pianist Michael Raucheiser alone and with baritone Carl Schiffeler, pianist and harpsichordist Li Stadelmann with conductor Hermann Wolfgang von Waltershausen, the latter again with pianist Walter Georgii, violinists Annie Steiger-Betzak, Ferenc von Vecsey, and Andreas Weißgerber (with pianist Otto Graef), and pianist Friedrich Wührer. - Ensembles with multiple signatures: the Amar Quartet with a signature by Paul Hindemith as a violist, the Guarneri Quartet, the Rosé Quartet, the Stross Quartet (2 entries), Don Cossack Choir with numerous signatures, Comedian Harmonists with a sextet of signatures, Saarbrücken Association for Early Music (2 entries). - Conductors and composers: Hermann Abendroth (entry and original letter insert), Maximilian Albrecht, Henry Berenyi (Gypsy Symphony Orchestra), Ernst Boehe, Clemens von Franckenstein, Siegmund von Hausegger (2 entries), Richard Kraus, Peter Raabe, Max Reger (instead of an entry, a mounted postcard with a note—a forceful cancellation of a concert with the addition “will never come to Kaiserslautern again,” along with an explanation of the reason by Kraus), choir conductor Hugo Rüdel, St. Thomas Choir conductor Karl Straube, Siegfried Wagner, Otto Wartisch (with a “Fugue” from his orchestral score), Felix von Weingartner (on a mounted Wagner picture postcard, accompanied by a caption by Krauss). - Also included are the dancers Anna Pavlova and Mary Wigman; the clown Grock with a self-portrait in profile; the actors Paul Wegener, Greta Schröder-Wegener, Walter Dysing, and Alice Lischke on a single sheet; the comedian Willy Reichert (2 entries), Felix Graf Luckner (2 entries), naval officer Julius Lauterbach-Emden, and aviator Elly Beinhorn. - In very good condition.