ALS in German, signed “Freud,” one page, 5.75 x 9, February 23, 1938. Letter to Mr. Franz Selinek in Czechoslovakia. In full (translated): "I am grateful for the interest that my work on Moses aroused in you. Oddly enough, there is also an essay by the young Goethe that deals with the person of Moses and even guessed his violent end. But I hope you don’t miss the fact that the actual content of my study is the claim that he was not a Jew but an Egyptian. All the rest is merely conclusions drawn from this assumption.” In fine condition, with a faint stain well below the signature. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope addressed in Freud’s hand, as well as two retained carbon copies of Selinek’s original letters to Freud.
This letter relates to Freud’s last major work prior to his death, Moses and Monotheism, published in 1939. In it, Freud hypothesized that Moses was not Hebrew but rather had been born into Ancient Egyptian nobility. After reading a newspaper article about Freud’s studies, his correspondent Selinek wrote to suggest that he look into a 1792 piece by the great Friedrich Schiller entitled ‘Moses' Mission.’ In this reply, Freud brings his attention to Goethe’s piece—an interesting connection between titans of German literature. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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