Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
the fragment of an earlier travel diary which Geusau had written during a grand tour untertaken in 1731 / 32 . 14
The Geusau diary of 1740 to 1742 is in fact no such thing but a series of reports sent home , about once a week , during a grand tour that lasted for almost two years . In May of 1740 , Geusau had been tasked by Count Henry XXIV with guiding Henry XI on a voyage through Europe . He was specifically instructed to invite guests to their table whose acquaintance might benefit the young count . He was also told to report home every four weeks . For his services , he would be remunerated with 1,000 rixdallers per annum . 15
According to Büsching , Geusau ’ s dispatches were disseminated amongst various persons related or acquainted with the Reuss family in Köstritz , which seems to explain why two copies are still extant . 16 Both are being kept at the beauti ful summer palace in Greiz , located in what used to be called , in darker times , the Lenin Park . The lovingly restored building now holds the Staat- liche Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung , a collection of some 35,000 books and thousands of engravings and caricatures . The two mid-eighteenth century manuscripts in question are bound volumes containing the text of the original Geusau letters as copied by professional scribes . 17 There is very little textual variation between them , and they are unquestionably authentic . It would seem that they have largely escaped the attention of historians , except for one author who wrote his doctoral thesis on the tradition of the grand tour in Germany which was published in 2004 . 18 In addition to the two manuscripts , the Greiz library also holds the copy of Ramsay ’ s short biography of Fénelon which the author gave to Geusau as a present in 1741 . ( This is surprising since Geusau ’ s substantial private library was acquired , after his death , by Rochus Friedrich von Lynar . 19 ) The handwritten dedication reads “ in amicitia et observantia tesseram dono dedit ”: presented as a token of friendship and respect . 20 Finally , the library possesses a fine copy of Ramsay ’ s two-volume biography of Prince Henry
14 Anton Friederich Büsching , Beyträge zu der Lebens geschichte denkwürdiger Personen , insonderheit gelehrter Männer , vol . 4 ( Halle : Curt , 1786 ), 199 – 218 .
15 See Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Greiz , 3-11-1200 ( Hausarchive Obergreiz und Untergreiz ), Schrank IV , Fach 3 a , Nr . 6 .
16 Büsching , Beyträge zu der Lebens geschichte denkwürdiger Personen ( vol . 2 ), 37 . 17 Staatliche Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung Greiz , shelf marks DB 2316 and DB 2393 .
18 Mathis Leibetseder , Die Kavalierstour : Adlige Erziehungsreisen im 17 . und 18 . Jahrhundert ( Cologne : Böhlau , 2004 ).
19 See Büsching , Beyträge zu der Lebens geschichte denkwürdiger Personen ( vol . 4 ), 166 . See also the catalogue of Geusau ’ s library put up for sale after his death : Catalogus Bibliothecæ Selectæ ante Kalendas Dec . MDCCL . conjunctim , elapso vero hoc termino auctionis lege vendendæ ( Greiz : Ludewig , 1750 ).
20 [ Ramsay ,] Histoire de la vie et des ouvrages de Messire Francois [ sic ] de Salignac de la Mothe-Fenelon archevêque Duc de Cambray ( Amsterdam : L ’ Honoré , 1727 ); Staatliche Bücher- und Kupferstichsammlung Greiz , shelf mark S : R : BIO : R : 1727 : 8 °.
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