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Lot 1008
KEPLER PURSUES HIS PENSION FROM THE ROMAN EMPEROR MATTHIAS. KEPLER, JOHANNES. 1571-1630. Autograph Letter Signed ("Johann Kepler"), in German, to Matthias, Roman Emperor and King of Hungary Bohemia, etc., 2 pp recto and verso, folio (310 x 198 mm), 6 September 1613,
25 October 2022, 14:00 EDT
New YorkUS$120,000 - US$180,000
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KEPLER PURSUES HIS PENSION FROM THE ROMAN EMPEROR MATTHIAS.
KEPLER, JOHANNES. 1571-1630. Autograph Letter Signed ("Johann Kepler"), in German, to Matthias, Roman Emperor and King of Hungary Bohemia, etc., 2 pp recto and verso, folio (310 x 198 mm), 6 September 1613, small tear to vertical fold, small mend to horizontal fold, with a typed translation into English.
Provenance: Roger W. Barrett Collection, sold Sotheby's New York, December 14, 1988, lot 132.
From 1600 to 1612 Kepler held the position of Imperial Mathematician at the court of the Roman Emperor Rudolph II in Prague, an appointment confirmed by Rudolph's successor Matthias. Rudolph was an avid supporter of the arts and sciences, and in 1610, he had bestowed upon Kepler a grant of 2,000 taler, which actually amounted to only a portion of his unpaid salaries, for having "with special pains, most obediently exhibited and shown and daily performed to our agreeable and most gracious pleasure and satisfaction" (English translation by Hellman in Caspar Kepler, p 156). Rudolph's patronage was grand, but the imperial treasury was less eager to pay the stipends promised, and Kepler was left to continually pursue the court for payment. Kepler had dedicated his major scientific works,Astronomia nova, Astronomiae pars optica, and De stella nova to Rudolph, but more importantly to the court, he had provided regular astrological readings in order to help divine state policy. Despite his valuable service, Kepler died impoverished, with the crown owing him 12,694 gulden (more than 10,000 taler).
The present letter, addressed to Emperor Matthias in 1613, explains the complications Kepler has encountered in dealing with various imperial offices, and requests payment of the arrears owed him, concluding with the deferential signature "Your Imperial Majesty's Most Humble and most obedient Mathematician. Johan Keppler." It stands as a rare testament to the real life and tragic circumstances of Kepler, the scientific giant Carl Sagan called ""the first astrophysicist and the last scientific astrologer."
Most Kepler manuscripts were purchased by Catherine the Great and given to the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory. KEPLER MANUSCRIPTS RARELY APPEAR AT AUCTION: according to American Book Prices Current only four other Kepler autograph letters have sold at auction for more than 100 years. See Caspar, Max, Kepler, Dover, 1993.
Provenance: Roger W. Barrett Collection, sold Sotheby's New York, December 14, 1988, lot 132.
From 1600 to 1612 Kepler held the position of Imperial Mathematician at the court of the Roman Emperor Rudolph II in Prague, an appointment confirmed by Rudolph's successor Matthias. Rudolph was an avid supporter of the arts and sciences, and in 1610, he had bestowed upon Kepler a grant of 2,000 taler, which actually amounted to only a portion of his unpaid salaries, for having "with special pains, most obediently exhibited and shown and daily performed to our agreeable and most gracious pleasure and satisfaction" (English translation by Hellman in Caspar Kepler, p 156). Rudolph's patronage was grand, but the imperial treasury was less eager to pay the stipends promised, and Kepler was left to continually pursue the court for payment. Kepler had dedicated his major scientific works,Astronomia nova, Astronomiae pars optica, and De stella nova to Rudolph, but more importantly to the court, he had provided regular astrological readings in order to help divine state policy. Despite his valuable service, Kepler died impoverished, with the crown owing him 12,694 gulden (more than 10,000 taler).
The present letter, addressed to Emperor Matthias in 1613, explains the complications Kepler has encountered in dealing with various imperial offices, and requests payment of the arrears owed him, concluding with the deferential signature "Your Imperial Majesty's Most Humble and most obedient Mathematician. Johan Keppler." It stands as a rare testament to the real life and tragic circumstances of Kepler, the scientific giant Carl Sagan called ""the first astrophysicist and the last scientific astrologer."
Most Kepler manuscripts were purchased by Catherine the Great and given to the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory. KEPLER MANUSCRIPTS RARELY APPEAR AT AUCTION: according to American Book Prices Current only four other Kepler autograph letters have sold at auction for more than 100 years. See Caspar, Max, Kepler, Dover, 1993.