A German physician, writer, and Jewish nationalist, Nordau (1849–1923) was instrumental in establishing recognition of Palestine as a potential Jewish homeland. An important archive of 91 purple-penned love letters in German from Nordau to his love, Sara Hutzler, totaling 336 pages, 1881–1885. In 1881 Nordau fell in love with a German woman named Sara Hutzler. At the time, Nordau was a 32-year-old bachelor living in Paris and working on his doctorate under a teacher who was also the mentor of Sigmund Freud. Hutzler was a 28-year-old divorcee and children’s author living in Berlin. Nordau and Hutzler used to meet between Berlin and Paris, in Cologne. Nordau’s letters to Hutzler, peppered with exclamation points, include much content related to the cultural issues that preoccupied him and his superficial attitude toward Jewish tradition. It is not known how Hutzler and Nordau ended their relationship but Hutzler married actor Joseph Kainz in 1886. The letters are presented in chronological order in five portfolios. Volume I contains 22 letters totaling 81 pages, dated Sept. 25, 1881–Dec. 29, 1881; Volume II contains 23 letters totaling 86 pages, dated January 2–March 15, 1882; Volume III contains 23 letters totaling 81 pages, dated March 19 – July 3, 1882; Volume IV contains 13 letters totaling 54 pages from 1882; and Volume V contains 10 letters dated 1883–1885. A sample four-page letter, sent from Rue Paris and dated October 5, 1882, has been fully translated. This letter speaks of Nordau’s paranoia that Sara will leave him, his concern over her whereabouts, and makes mention of Hutzler’s working projects Lila and Tägliche Rundscha. In part: “My Sarahchen, if only I were reassured about the state of your health! I don’t know why, but I no longer have that nice feeling of confidence, and when I don’t have a letter from you all day long, I start to have dismal thoughts. That brings me around to asking you whether you are still alone or whether you’ve taken in one of the ladies contending for your vacancy. I don’t know where I get all these ideas. Maybe you know-you are so much cleverer than I. But I would also like to know whether Ehrlich still comes often to see you. You recently dreamed about him, but that doesn’t prove anything. I confess: I’m not jealous of him; he is kind, noble, and true. I would be pleased if he came to see you frequently. But then I also feel how far, how deplorably far, it is from Paris to Berlin. All that because I didn’t get a letter today! Last evening I read ‘Zeit ist Geld’ [Time Is Money] and ‘Neujahr in Amerika’ [New Year in America] for the second time and the four portraits of ‘Young Amerika’ for the first time. ‘Young Amerika’ is really cute, but it runs on too long. With only slight variations, Robert is still a peddler in all four sketches; whether with prize boxes or lemonade, with railroad novels or other wares, in the end the difference is just not great enough.” The letters have never been published or fully translated, making this the most “private” archive in private hands; the partial translations shed an interesting light on Nordau’s relationship with Sara and a more in-depth look into his views of Judaism. In fine overall condition. An untapped resource ripe for research into a remarkable life! Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA..
