JOSEPH II, letters, autographs, documents, manuscripts



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JOSEPH II (1741-1790). Holy Roman Emperor.
Letter Signed ('Joseph' with paraph) to Professor Forster, 1 page 4to with integral blank (lightly tipped down), Vienna, 3 October 1787. Thanking him for a copy of his German translation of Cook's last voyage, and sending a token of his gratitude for the dedication (not inlcluded).
The emperor praises Forster's erudition and wishes him all success with his forthcoming travels ('ich zweifle nicht, dass Ihr Unternehmen allgemeine Aufklärung befördern wird.')
Georg Forster and his father Johann accompanied Captain Cook on his second voyage around the world, from 1772 to 1775, and their account of A Voyage round the World in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop Resolution... was published in English in 1777. Forster's own German translation appeared a year later and was widely hailed as a masterpiece of the genre of travel literature. Forster also published a German translation of Cook's diaries.
Provenance: from a collection formed by A.M. Broadley in 1903.
[No: 24934]


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