Autograph letter signed.
Autograph ist nicht mehr verfügbar
An autograph letter signed “I. Kant”. Written in German to an unidentified recipient, the letter the translation reads as follows: “The enclosed will allow Your Excell.y to see that the man who has so far been our Secretaries does not just seek permission to leave his position, but, more importantly, declares himself as of now free of all duties associated with it, meaning I cannot count on his assistance tomorrow in officio Rectorali. I will ask for his confirmation on that, and in case he does turn it down, I will see myself forced to order the tickets for next Tuesday, with which Your Excell.y usually has no way to give me help. The day after tomorrow, a Senate contest will be all the more called for as the written response by His Excell.y the Budget Minister von Woellner has arrived here which occasion can give us the chance to present our concern regarding a Syndici to the court, maybe with success. I have the honor to present to you my highest respect. Your Excell.y’s devoted servant, I. Kant”. Although the final digit of the year is unclear, the letter dates to the late 1780s, when Kant was rapidly achieving a reputation for himself as a philosopher and author. He published a revised version of his now-famous Critique of Pure Reason in 1787 and his Critique of Practical Reason in 1788. Von Woellner may refer to Prussian politician and clergyman Johann Christoph von Wöllner (1732-1800), who is known to have censored Kant’s writings because of his views on religion.
The letter has been professionally restored with leafcasting. Kant’s handwritten letters are of great rarity.