The Auction Catalogue of Kierkegaard’s Library

197 Pages·2015·1.638 MB·English

by  Katalin Nun, Gerhard Schreiber

The AucTion cATAlogue of
KierKegAArd’s librAry
Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources
Volume 20
Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources
is a publication of the søren Kierkegaard research centre
General Editor
Jon sTewArT
Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre,
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Editorial Board
finn gredAl Jensen
KATAlin nun
peTer ŠAJdA
Advisory Board
lee c. bArreTT
mAríA J. bineTTi
isTvÁn czAKÓ
heiKo schulz
curTis l. Thompson
The Auction catalogue of
Kierkegaard’s library
Edited by
KATAlin nun, gerhArd schreiber
And Jon sTewArT
First published 2015 by Ashgate Publishing
Published 2016 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright© 2015 Katalin nun, gerhard schreiber and Jon stewart
Katalin nun, gerhard schreiber and Jon stewart have asserted their right under the copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the british library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
library of congress control number: 2014949228
isbn 9781472453679 (hbk)
cover design by Katalin nun
contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
main collection 1
Appendix i 105
Appendix ii 117
u-collection 131
Index 145

preface
The present volume is a revised edition of the auction catalogue of Kierkegaard’s
private library. The catalogue has long served as one of the most valuable tools in
Kierkegaard studies and has been actively used by commentators, translators, and
researchers. scholars quickly recognized the potential importance of this catalogue
primarily for tracing the various sources of Kierkegaard’s thought. with the catalogue
in hand, one could determine with some degree of probability what books he read
and what editions he used for his information about specific authors.
The present volume represents the fourth printing of the catalogue, and it differs
from its predecessors in many respects. The previous editions contained incomplete,
erroneous, and inconsistent bibliographical information about the works in the
catalogue. One of the most serious flaws with the previous editions was the fact
that it was impossible for the previous editors to get hold of copies of all the books
and check the bibliographical information first-hand. While The Royal Library in
copenhagen together with its Kierkegaard Archive contained a number of books
belonging to Kierkegaard’s collection, there were still many works that it lacked.
The present edition is the first attempt to create the auction catalogue in the
digital age. There are today numerous online resources that were not available to
the editors of the previous editions. The primary goal of the present edition was to
get hold of all of the books and check the title pages for the precise bibliographical
information. This has proven a meticulous task that has involved the work of many
people. but the result is an accurate edition of the catalogue that is better suited to
the needs of modern scholars than its predecessors. in what follows a brief account
is given of the previous editions of the auction catalogue and how they differ from
the present edition.
I. The Original Edition of the Auction Catalogue
As is well known, Kierkegaard was an avid reader and book collector.1 After his
death on november 11, 1855, it was decided that his extensive personal library
1 see sejer Kühle, “søren Kierkegaards bibliothek,” Berlingske Aftenavis, february
24, 1943. niels Jørgen cappelørn, “Kierkegaard som bogkøber og bogsamler,” in niels
Jørgen cappelørn, gert posselt, and bent rohde, Tekstspejle. Om Søren Kierkegaard som
bogtilrettelægger, boggiver og bogsamler, copenhagen: rosendahls forlag 2002, pp. 105–219.
niels Thulstrup, “his library,” in Kierkegaard as a Person, ed. by niels Thulstrup and marie
mikulová Thulstrup, copenhagen: c.A. reitzel 1983 (Bibliotheca Kierkegaardiana, vol. 12),
pp. 74–101.
viii The Auction Catalogue of Kierkegaard’s Library
with more than 2,000 books would be sold at auction. This auction took place from
April 8 to April 10, 1856 at Klædeboderne 5–6 (today skindergade 38/dyrkøb 5)
in copenhagen, which was Kierkegaard’s last residence where he was living at
the time of his death. A catalogue of the works to be sold was prepared by one
J. maag, who was in charge of the auction. The catalogue was apparently done in
some haste and contains a number of errors. moreover, not all of the bibliographical
information about the individual works and editions was always provided. but
this is understandable given that this initial catalogue was intended for use in
the context of an auction and was never conceived to be the object of scholarly
study.
The catalogue was published in 278 copies on occasion of the auction as
Fortegnelse over Dr. Sören A. Kierkegaards efterladte Bogsamling or Catalogue
of Dr. Søren Kierkegaard’s Posthumous Book Collection.2 The work consisted of a
main collection and two appendices. The main catalogue contains 2,197 numbers
representing individual works or editions. The first appendix contains 226 numbers
and the second 325. Ever since the first edition, it has been customary to refer to
the books in Kierkegaard’s collection by their catalogue numbers, which have
been preserved in later editions including the present one. in addition to the books
there were also a handful of other items at the auction such as some maps, pictures
and a globe, all belonging to Kierkegaard. during the auction itself, maag made a
handwritten account of who bought what books and at what price. This handwritten
protocol still exists and can be found at the landsarkiv for sjælland, which is now
a part of the rigsarkiv.
There is controversy surrounding the question of whether or not the books
that appear in the two appendices also belonged to Kierkegaard’s library.3 it has
been pointed out that it was common practice for booksellers to combine different
collections at any given auction. if one assumes that the appendices represented two
separate collections belonging to other people, then it is likely that since they were
not so large it was decided to wait for a larger collection before holding an auction.
Kierkegaard’s collection then provided this opportunity. According to this view, then
the two appendices are meaningless for Kierkegaard studies since they were not a
part of his library.4 A further argument for this claim is that there are some duplicate
copies that appear both in the appendices and in the main collection. This would
seem to imply that these represent different collections, since it is improbable that
Kierkegaard would keep two copies of the same work. while this view seems to
have some degree of plausibility, it is by no means absolutely definitive, given the
fact that Kierkegaard himself possessed duplicate copies of the same work listed in
2 Fortegnelse over Dr. Sören A. Kierkegaards efterladte Bogsamling som bortsælges
ved offentlig Auction Tirsdagen den 8de April 1856 og fölgende Dage i Klædeboderne Nr.
5–6, copenhagen: s.l. möllers bogtrykkeri [1856].
3 see niels Thulstrup, “indledning,” in Katalog over Søren Kierkegaards Bibliotek,
p. 24. Aage Kabell, Kierkegaardstudiet i Norden, copenhagen: h. hagerup 1948, pp. 214–15.
4 cappelørn, “Kierkegaard som bogkøber og bogsamler,” pp. 115–16.
Preface ix
the main catalogue itself.5 The present edition prints the two appendices and leaves
the question open as to whether or not they belonged to Kierkegaard’s library.
The auction catalogue conveys a picture of a meticulously organized library. it is
divided into 30 groups of works with no headings but with the groups being separated
by a short line. it is conceivable that the numbered order in which the works appear
in the catalogue is a reflection of how the books appeared on Kierkegaard’s shelves.
but the groupings of the books are presumably the work of maag and may or may
not reflect Kierkegaard’s own conception of the organization of his collection.6
II. The Early Research
by the turn of the twentieth century scholars were attentive to the value of the
catalogue for research purposes. in 1899 the grundtvigian pastor carl Koch
(1860–1925) gave an account of it in the first part of an article “Søren Kierkegaard
og Æventyret” in Dansk Tidsskrift.7 He makes the first attempt to go through the
catalogue and give a brief characterization of what he takes to be the main categories
of books found there: religion, philosophy, belles lettres and folk literature.
in 1943 the literary historian sejer Kühle (1886–1957) published an article
“søren Kierkegaards bibliotek” in a danish newspaper.8 This is the first article
dedicated to a discussion of Kierkegaard’s library. Kühle gives an informative and
colorful account of the auction not just of Kierkegaard’s books but also of his other
possessions. He briefly lists the key authors who appear in Kierkegaard’s library
in the different fields of philosophy, theology and literature. He recounts who was
present at the auction and who purchased which works.
The catalogue was also discussed by the literary scholar Aage Kabell (1920–
81) in 1948 in his book on the reception of Kierkegaard’s thought in the nordic
countries.9 Kabell polemicizes against some of Koch’s claims with regard to the
nature of Kierkegaard’s library. he takes up the question of the appendices and
argues that they did not belong to Kierkegaard’s own collection. (1) he argues that
the order of the two appendices does not seem to fit with the main catalogue. If one
counters that these were just diverse works that were forgotten and had to be added
without any special order, then these could have been included at the end of the main
collection where there does seem to be a small group of works like this (nos. 2190–
2197). (2) if these books belonged to Kierkegaard, then why were they not just added
5 see, for example, nos. 14–15 and no. 16; nos. 21–32, no. 33 and no. 2193; nos. 186–
187; nos. 245–247; nos. 669–670 and nos. 1249–1250.
6 see cappelørn, “Kierkegaard som bogkøber og bogsamler,” pp. 120–1. cappelørn
revises the 30 groups to 46 groups.
7 carl Koch, “søren Kierkegaard og Æventyret” in Dansk Tidsskrift, 1899, pp. 146–60.
it was later reprinted as an appendix to his book Kierkegaard og Emil Boesen. Breve og
Indledning, copenhagen: Karl schønbergs forlag 1901.
8 sejer Kühle, “søren Kierkegaards bibliotek,” Berlingske Aftenavis, february 24,
1943.
9 Aage Kabell, Kierkegaardstudiet i Norden, copenhagen: h. hagerup 1948, pp. 214–15.