Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels.
Berlin: Ernst Rowohlt, 1928. First edition. Original cloth, with the original printed dust jacket. 257 pp. Very good condition; dust jacket with minor chipping.
First edition of Benjamin’s first major work, a foundational study of Baroque drama, preserved with its scarce original dust jacket.
Benjamin’s first major work, written as his Habilitationsschrift and later recognized as a foundational text of twentieth-century literary and philosophical criticism. The book offers a radical reinterpretation of the German Baroque Trauerspiel, treating it not as a deficient form of classical tragedy but as a distinct genre grounded in history, sovereignty, and allegory.
In this study, Benjamin develops key concepts that inform his later thought, in particular his theory of allegory and his non-linear conception of history. The work departs from traditional philological approaches, employing a dense, fragmentary, and interdisciplinary method that was initially rejected by the academic establishment but has since come to be regarded as one of his most important and original contributions.
Published in 1928 by Rowohlt, the book marks a decisive moment in Benjamin’s intellectual development and in the emergence of modern critical theory.
The original dust jacket is preserved. As is typical for the edition, the wrapper is often absent.
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Price: €15,000.00