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F.M.B[UETTNER?] : 1905 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A YOUNG AMERICAN GIRL ON HER WAY TO STUDY PIANO AT ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS MUSIC CONSERVATORIES

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is an interesting original 1905 manuscript diary handwritten by a young woman identified on the inside cover by the initials F.M.B. We believe the 'B' stands for Buettner the surname name of her uncle. Researchers and historians will have many, many clues to use to confirm or deny as she is prodigious mentioning the names of all she comes in contact with. The diary starts off with our author and her friend Gertrude in the States heading to St. Louis through Burlington on board the train. They are heading to New York to catch the ocean liner Kronprinz Wilhelm which takes them to Berlin Germany. The reason our author is heading to Europe is because she is to study, piano we believe, at the famed Stern Conservatory in Berlin under the tutorship of Professor Gustav Hollaender. There are 109 well filed handwritten pages and the first 13 pages have to do with her trip to New York and on the ship and the rest have to do with her time in Germany. She is a wonderful writer - here are some snippets: 1905 "It has always been my ambition to make a trip to Europe for a combined visit for pleasure and study. How often have I longed for a time when everyday would be a holiday. Now in the year 1905 it seems that my dream is to come true for Thursday July 27th, finds me leaving home and dear one for a year beyond the deep blue sea. Gertrude and I leave at 10 in the morning and go to St. Louis via Burlington. The day is cool and rainy. Paul met us at the depot at 5:50 and we took the Suburban RR for his home. I had to wear a white handkerchief tied around my arm so he would recognize us. It began to pour and we had a terrible experience walking at least 8 blocks in mud and high weeds. Our arms and hands were nearly out of joint carrying so many things……(she goes on to talk about her nights stay at Paul's home until they left the next morning at 8:20 on the "Big Four")….Indianapolis, Indiana has a large depot. Ate supper on the dining car $1.00. Train went so fast that a swell colored waiter lost his balance and nearly fell on me. Changed trains at Cleveland Ohio at 11 o'clock at night….." "August 1st, We got up on this memorable day at 5 o'clock and managed to dress very nicely. I wore a short black skirt, a plaid silk waist, a white cap, white gloves and a light blue veil. The night before we had a shower of letters from our loved ones. Another surprise was that Ger---name was put on the door slate as Elsie. When we entered our cabin we saw 2 steamer chairs which had been sent to us by Mr. Wallace. The steamer left the pier at 8 o'clock and I had a bad spell of crying. But I tried to be brave and soon felt fine. We passed the beautiful Statue of Liberty. We have a fine place on deck for our chairs, also a fine place at `1st table. No land in sight at 9 o'clock. Saw the pilot leave the ship. My number at the table is 163. Gertrude is on one side and a young man on other. The napkins at the table are about 1 mile square. There is no drinking water anywhere last night and Ger and I took two good swallows of "schnapps". I was the only woman at the table." "August 3rd, Very damp in the morning. Spent day with Mr. and Mrs. Noel. In the eve Mr. Tarr took me to the first cabin to hear the concert. I saw the beautiful parlors, library, dining room, etc. we promenaded for a while and then sat on upper deck and talked. At 9 o'clock I went to the eve concert in our cabin with Mr. and Mrs. Noel and had a fine time." "August 5th, Took pictures. The dog "Noble" sat on my lap, what a wonder! Remember the "slop barrel". A case of small pox in 1st cabin reported. Ma Tarr brought me some peanuts. The fellow we call "The Anarchist" and who is looking for a wife makes great efforts to cultivate my acquaintances. Went to the eve concert with Mr. and Mrs. Noel." In Bremerhaven they take a few weeks I believe to see the sights and on August 30th she writes: "The day started in with a heavy rain. Went to the Conservatory and were ushered into a waiting room. Then the director, Prof. Gustav Hollander, examined us and told me I have such talent that he would have me take of Prof. Bohlmann instead of Prof. Dreyschock. Price 450 mks. We wrote out our programs at home. In the afternoon Uncle Franz Buettner came over in the eve." HISTORICAL NOTES: "It was a private school in Berlin with many notable tutors and alumni. It was originally founded in 1850 at the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. It was originally founded in 1850 as the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. Kullak withdrew from the conservatory in 1855 in order to create a new academy of sculpture and three-dimensional art. With Marx's withdrawal in 1856, the conservatory came exclusively under the Stern family and adopted its name. In 1894 it was taken over by Gustav Hollaender (the uncle of film composer Friedrich Hollaender), who moved the school's location to the Berlin Philharmonic concert hall on Bernburger Strasse in Berlin-Kreuzberg. In the course of the Gleichschaltung process, the Stern Academy in 1936 was renamed Konservatorium der Reichshauptstadt Berlin controlled by the Nazi regime. Gustav Hollaender's heirs were diseased, but for a few years they were able to run a "Jewish Private Music School Hollaender" until they were deported and murdered in 1941. After the end of the Second World War in 1945, the school was again renamed as the Städtisches Konservatorium (City Conservatory) in what was to become West Berlin. In 1966 it was merged with the public Akademische Hochschule für Musik into the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (Berlin State School of Music and the Performing Arts), since 2001 the Berlin." The 3¼" x 8" diary's first page has a small tear and a worn cover, but overall G+.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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