Two Boston Brahmins in Goethe’s Germany Two Boston Brahmins in Goethe’s Germany The Travel Journals of Anna and George Ticknor E DITED BY T A G M HOMAS DAM AND ISELA ETTELE LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham (cid:129) Boulder (cid:129) New York (cid:129) Toronto (cid:129) Oxford LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, MD 20706 Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2009 by Lexington Books All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ticknor, Anna, 1800–1885. Two Boston Brahmins in Goethe’s Germany : the travel journals of Anna and George Ticknor / edited by Thomas Adam and Gisela Mettele. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7391-2911-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7391-2912-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7391-3830-4 (electronic) 1. Germany—Description and travel. 2. Germany—Social life and customs—19th century. 3. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749–1832. 4. Ticknor, Anna, 1800–1885— Diaries. 5. Ticknor, George, 1791–1871—Diaries. 6. Ticknor, Anna, 1800–1885— Travel—Germany. 7. Ticknor, George, 1791–1871—Travel—Germany. 8. Americans— Travel—Germany—History—19th century. 9. Boston (Mass.)—Biography. 10. Upper class—Massachusetts—Boston—Biography. I. Ticknor, George, 1791–1871. II. Adam, Thomas. III. Mettele, Gisela. IV. Title. DD39.T53 2009 914.304'730922—dc22 2009006244 Printed in the United States of America (cid:2) ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. For Eberhard Brüning Contents List of Figures ix Preface xi Introduction 1 PART ONE: A STUDENT DISCOVERS GERMANY: GEORGE TICKNOR, 1815–1817 1 “We reached Göttingen, anxious and doubting.” Studying Abroad, August 5, 1815–September 10, 1816 21 2 “A Journey” with Edward Everett, September 13– October 25, 1816 31 3 “Germany. Face of the Country”: Youthful Reflections, 1815–1817 62 4 “One important step nearer to . . . home.” March 22–April 1, 1817 86 PART TWO: COSMOPOLITAN SOJOURNERS IN ROYAL SAXONY Section I: George Ticknor, 1835–1836 5 “The spires and towers of Dresden were before us.” November 12–December 25, 1835 97 6 “I was presented at Court.” December 26, 1835–April 22, 1836 111 7 “To keep . . . as distinct an impression as I can.” A Summary: April 1836 133 8 “It was not agreeable to leave Dresden.” May 8–June 5, 1836 147 vii viii CONTENTS Section II: Anna Ticknor, 1835–1836 9 “Safely arrived at this haven of rest.” November 10–December 25, 1835 163 10 “I amused myself with a rehearsal of my dress.” December 26, 1835–April 12, 1836 179 11 “I would fain . . . give an impression . . . of this pretty city.” April 26–May 8, 1836 202 12 “Once more travellers!” May 10–June 5, 1836 217 Biographical Glossary 233 Bibliography 251 Index 259 About the Editors 273 Figures Figure 1. George Ticknor (1791–1871), Class of 1807, by Thomas Sully, 1831 3 Figure 2. Anna Ticknor (1800–1885) [“Mrs. George Ticknor”] 6 Figure 3. Map of the Ticknors’ Travel Route, 1835–1836 7 Figure 4. The Sistine Madonna, by Raphael, 1513–1514 40 Figure 5. Dresden von der Morgenseite, by Johann Carl August Richter, ca. 1825 101 Figure 6. Das Dorf Raden in der Sächs. Schweitz, unknown artist, ca. 1830 225 ix