Call Number:

Ms. Coll. AX 3171

Repository:

German Society of Pennsylvania: Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library

Extent:

0.93 linear feet (4 boxes)

Language:

German

Preferred Citation:

Otto Welden literary manuscripts, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

circa 1860-1902 (inclusive)

Creator:

Welden, Otto, 1824-1902

Form:

Manuscripts, German--19th century, Novels, Plays (document genre), Poems, and Portraits

Abstract:

Handwritten copies of works by German-American author Otto Welden (pseudonym of P. J. Reuss), mostly produced at Welden's direction, with some material in his own hand. Comprises two volumes of poetry, three dramatic works, and two novels. Includes works that were published only in periodicals; some may not have been published in any form.

Otto Welden was the pseudonym of P. J. (Peter Joseph) Reuss.[1] He was born in Fulda, in Hesse, Germany (at that time the Landgraviate Hesse-Kassel), on 3 September 1824. He studied medicine in Berlin, Basel, and Marburg, earning a medical degree. He emigrated to the United States in 1851, arriving in Baltimore on 20 September 1851. He settled at first in New York City, and later resided in Washington, DC. He was a military physician in the Civil War serving from 1861 to 1864 in the 29th New York Infantry Regiment, a mostly German regiment. Apparently he returned to Germany at the time of the Franco-Prussian War; under the name P. J. Reuss, he published sketches of his experiences as a physician in that war.[2] Known for literary works under his pseudonym Otto Welden, he was the author of poems, dramas, and novels. He may have been best known for his plays, which were performed in German-language theaters in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore; three plays were published in book form.[3] He died in New York City on 2 April 1902.[4]

Footnotes

[1] When using his actual name, Welden typically signs "P. J. Reuss."

[2] Interessante Skizzen und Erfahrungen eines deutschamerikanischen Arztes in dem grossen deutsch-französischen Kriege 1870-1871 (Leipzig: Sackmann, 1875).

[3] Tragödien (Aachen: J. Stercken, 1871). None of the plays in the book is represented here.

[4] "Deaths reported," New York Times, 24 April 1902, p. 9. Report of death of Dr. P. J. Reuss.

References

Rattermann, H. A., ed. Deutsch-Amerikanisches Magazin, vol. 1. Cincinnati, Ohio: S. Rosenthal, 1886-1887. 318-326. Excerpts from Welden's play Tippo Saib.

Ward, Robert E. A Bio-bibliography of German-American Writers, 1670-1970. White Plains, NY: Kraus International Publications, 1985. 237. Biographical entry.

Zimmermann, G. A. Deutsch in Amerika : Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutsch-amerikanischen Literatur: 1. Episch-lyrische Poesie. Chicago : Ackermann & Eyller, 1892 (publication of Germania Männerchor in Chicago). xxxix, 102. Commentary and biographical entry. The second edition (1894) also includes three poems by Welden (p. 53-54).

The collection contains handwritten manuscripts of works by Otto Welden (pseudonym of P. J. Reuss), including three dramas, two novels, and two volumes of poetry, with some material in his own hand. The manuscripts are for the most part copies made by others at Welden's direction, and usually are signed by him on the inside front cover (with address sometimes noted), and contain notes in his hand. One of the manuscripts (the novel 1776) is accompanied by a letter by the author to the scholar and school official G. A. Zimmerman, written in 1896.[1] Zimmerman was the author of a survey of German-American literature, Deutsch in Amerika, first published in 1892, which includes a biographical entry on Welden; the second edition of the book, published 1894, also includes poems by Welden.[2] The letter reveals that Welden had this copy of his novel made in order to send it to Zimmerman in Chicago.

None of the works included here was ever published in book form, but at least two of the plays were performed in German-American theaters, and at least one of the novels was published in German-American periodicals, as well as in a German periodical. Welden's own notes in two of the manuscripts record information about performances (in the case of the play König Gambrinus) or publication (in the case of the novel Robert Morris). The presence of such notes by him is indicated under the relevant items in the inventory list.(3) It is possible that some of the works were never published at all; and if so, the manuscript copy in this collection could be the only extant copy. Another repository for papers of Otto Welden/P. J. Reuss could not be located during the preparation of this finding aid.

A particularly German-American dimension is evident in the subject matter of the novels, which both in some way concern the American Revolution. One of the volumes of poetry ( Kleine Blühten der Lyrik), contains poems that allude to the author's life as a German immigrant, with poems dating as early as 1852, shortly after his arrival in the United States. The play King Gambrinus appears to be set in the United States and may have German-American elements.

Footnotes

[1] See folder in box 4 of the collection.

[2] See references (above). Zimmermann mentions Welden's novel 1776 in the first edition of his book, indicating that the date of composition was several years earlier than the production of the copy represented here.

[3] Welden's play Tippo Saib was also performed, according to the Cambridge History of English and American Literature (New York: Putnam, 1907-1921, vol. 18, ch. xxxi, section 15; accessed online through Bartelby.com).

The collection is divided into three series, according to genre: I. Poetry, II. Drama, and III. Novels. Within each series the manuscripts are listed alphabetically by title. The inventory list also records the original call number of the item, reflecting how they were cataloged at the time of acquisition by the German Society of Pennsylvania. The individual items are still labeled with that call number.