Letter and postcard, handwritten and signed by Stefan Zweig. Vienna and London, 1909 and 1938. German.
The brief letter was written in 1909, at the height of what was know as "La Belle Époque, " a prolonged period of peace that preceded the First World War; postcard written in 1938, during Zweig's stay in England, four years prior to his suicide. Both items written in purple ink, one of the author's trademarks.
1. Brief letter handwritten and signed by Stefan Zweig, dated March 24, 1909. Written on personal stationery, printed with Zweig's address in Vienna (Kochgasse 8) and his monogram (the letters "S" and "Z"), designed by E.M. Lilien. In the letter, Zweig apologizes for the tardiness of his response, owing to his absence during a visit to India, and submits a work he had written, for publication in "N.R." The addressee is most likely Dr. Josef Adolf Bondy (1876-1946), editor of the journal "Neue Revue." Inked stamp on top of letter: "Erledigt."
[1] f., 21.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines and minor creases. Minor blemishes to edges, and punch holes. Notation in pen in upper left corner.
2. Postcard handwritten and signed by Stefan Zweig, sent from his temporary place of residence in London and addressed to Josef Adolf Bondy in Geneva, dealing with literary matters. It mentions "Reichner, " who is "no longer interested in publishing poetry"; this is an apparent reference to Zweig's Viennese publisher, Herbert Reichner.
Appearing on the back of the postcard are Bondy's address, handwritten by Zweig, in addition to stamps and postmarks dated January-March, 1938.
14X9 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor wear.

Stefan Zweig (1881-1842), famed Austrian Jewish author of novellas, plays, and novels, some of them regarded as the greatest of German literary masterpieces of the pre-World War I and interwar periods. His important autobiographical work, titled "Die Welt von Gestern" ("The World of Yesterday, " 1942), represents a song of praise to European culture, and, at the same time, a lament over its untimely demise. Alongside the story of his life, Zweig portrays here the thriving cultural awakening that took place in Europe in general and Vienna in particular in the early 20th century. The latter days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire saw the rise of the likes of Sigmund Freud, Rainer Maria Rilke, Stefan George, Arthur Schnitzler, Rudolf Steiner, Richard Strauss, and Theodor Herzl. These, and many others, were great figures who made their mark on the culture of the world, and Zweig was personally acquainted with most of them. Nevertheless, as pointed out in this book, in the German-speaking lands, this "golden age" would also produce the elements that would lay waste to culture – ultra-conservative, right-wing forces, fascists and reactionaries, whose actions would unleash upon Europe the calamities of the Second World War and the Holocaust. The European culture that Zweig eulogized was to be systematically uprooted by the Nazi party – its leaders and followers – who were its direct outgrowth, its natural offspring, its very own flesh and blood.
With the rise to power of the Nazis in Germany, Zweig left Austria for England. In 1940 he moved to New York, and from there to Brazil. Out of despair over the catastrophe that had befallen Europe, he and his wife Lotte took their own lives in 1942.

Josef Adolf Bondy (1876-1946), Jewish journalist and poet, native of Prague. A man of letters, deeply immersed in Prague's literary circles in the first half of the 20th century. Worked as Geneva correspondent for the Vienna-based "Neues Wiener Tagblatt" daily newspaper until the Nazi German takeover of Austria. Immigrated to London in 1939.