Lot #4014

Sigmund Freud Signed Book - Die Traumdeutung [The Interpretation of Dreams] - A Foundational Text of Psychoanalysis

Description

Sought-after signed copy of Sigmund Freud’s classic psychoanalytic work, Die Traumdeutung [The Interpretation of Dreams], presented to the Hungarian Red Cross in the wake of World War I

Signed German-language book: Die Traumdeutung [The Interpretation of Dreams]. 'Fifth, enlarged edition.' Leipzig and Vienna: Franz Deuticke, 1919. Softcover, 6.25 x 9.25, 474 pages. Signed and inscribed on the title page in fountain pen to the Hungarian Red Cross, "Dem ungar. Roten Kreuz, Freud, Dec. 19." Autographic condition: very good to fine, with light toning and soiling. Book condition: G/None, with small chips and tears to wrappers, light soiling, spine creased and darkened, and creasing to the last few pages.

The Interpretation of Dreams (Die Traumdeutung) was first published in German in an edition of 600 copies, a modest printing that took eight years to sell. As Sigmund Freud’s ideas gained wider attention, the book went through seven additional editions during his lifetime, and the first English translation, by Abraham Brill, appeared in 1913. In the work, Freud proposed that dreams function as expressions of wish fulfillment, using symbolic language to reveal hidden desires and unresolved conflicts. Over the past century, the book has come to be regarded as one of his most influential works, shaping the development of psychology and leaving a lasting mark on science, art, and literature.

Although initially patriotic at the outbreak of World War I, Freud grew critical of its violence as all three of his sons—Martin, Ernst, and Oliver—served in the Austro-Hungarian army. Of the sons, all of whom survived, Martin’s service was especially formative: he was wounded in 1915, later taken prisoner, and remained closely connected to the Red Cross through his care and through his relationship with Ernestine ‘Esti’ Drucker, a volunteer Red Cross nurse whom he later married. Against this background, a copy of The Interpretation of Dreams inscribed to the Hungarian Red Cross in December 1919 reads less like a formal presentation and more like a quiet gesture of thanks from the revered founder of psychoanalysis.

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Remarkable Rarities
• Dates: #738 - Ended 03/26/2026

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