A handwritten dedication is partially legible on one book page, the other part of the dedication has been pasted over.

Monarchists, Democrats, National Socialists

Handwritten dedications as traces of history

special exhibition

What do dedications in books tell us about the people who wrote them in? What do we learn about
those for whom they were intended? A search for clues.

Why does a writer give away a book that a colleague had gifted him “most sincerely”? Or who gives an abdicated emperor a literary work and wishes a “blessed Christmas”? Such handwritten dedications shed light on interpersonal relationships and open a historical window to bygone times.

The special exhibition at the Study Centre of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek presents books with dedications from the first half of the 20th century, which in turn made them one-of-a-kind collector’s items! The recipients and bestowers of these dedications belonged to a diverse range of political factions – monarchists, democrats and National Socialists. Yet how did their books end up in the library? In addition to personal backstories, the dedications are placed in their respective historical contexts.

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