The Thomas Mann Exhibit at Yale, 1950

Abstract

In honor of the author's 75th birthday, the Thomas Mann Collection of the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale showed from June 6, to November, 1950, one of the most comprehensive and thorough exhibitions ever done for a living author. Chronologically, it spanned the writing of 57 years, from a copy of the schoolboy's magazine Der Friihlingssturm (edited by Paul Thomas) to parts of Der Erwiihlte soon to be completed. In breadth, it ranged from memorabilia of the author's life through all his narrative, essayistic, and political writing, much of it shown in holograph manuscrpts and rare early printings. In depth, it not only presented for the first time in one place all the first printings and first book-editions of Mann's stories and essays, but for non-specialists showed the major cultural influences upon him in his reading, and a sampling of appreciations of his art from other literary figures. To accomplish this, Yale's collection itself greatly amplified since its inception in 1938 was supplemented by loans from the collection of Miss Ida Herz of London (particularly strong in magazine and newspaper publications), by German typescripts and English translator's manuscripts belonging to Mrs. LowePorter, and not least of all by many items of memorabilia, books, and manuscripts lent by the author and Mrs. Mann. A small sample of the scope of the exhibit was provided in the first display-case. Here, beginning with Der Friihlingssturm (1893), were represented high spots in Mann's career from this first publication to the last page of the manuscript of Doktor Faustus. One saw an early poem and the first story Gefallen (1894) from Die Gesellschaft together with the postcard from the editorial office accepting the story as well as a draft of Mann's reply to Dehmel's letter of encouragement and appreciation after it appeared. A playbill of the Akademisch-dramatischer Verein recalled that Thomas Mann acted the part of the elder Werle in the first German production of the Wild Duck in Munich in 1895. Mann's first book, Der Kleine Herr Friedemann (1898), lay open near two handwritten pages of working notes for Buddenbrooks and Der Tod in