Friedrich Kuhlau, 1786-1832 - Public domain scenic engraving

Signed: Recto: l. r.: (in lithograph, signature of lithographer) Em Barentzen ft [fecit] / 1838; bottom edge: (in lithograph, signature of Kuhlau) Fr. Kuhlau

Inscription: Recto: l. l.: (in lithograph) Em. Barentzen & Co. lith: Ivst [or Inst?]:; Verso: u. l.: (in pencil) 13123; u. r.: (in pencil) 285; u. c.: (in pencil) Fr. Kuhlau; center: (in pencil) Dayton Miller Coll.

Provenance: Source not known.

The original lithograph (in this photographic print) is signed and dated 1838 by the lithographer, Barentzen (life dates unknown), and also reproduces the signature of Kuhlau himself. As Kuhlau died in 1832, the original lithograph must have been a posthumous work, and may have been based on a drawing made before 1832. This photographic print (of a lithograph) of Kuhlau resembles a matte collodion photographic print of Kuhlau mounted on a gilt-edged card and a collotype of Kuhlau (both no. 210) from the collection of 500 images of flutists and composers of the flute and their biographies published by Adolph Goldberg in 1906. The Goldberg biography of flutists and composers (Biographieen zur Porträts-Sammlung hervorragender Flöten-Virtuosen, Dillettanten und Komponisten, Berlin, privately printed, 1906) and two sets of accompanying images (Porträts-Sammlung hervorragender Flöten-Virtuosen, Dillettanten und Komponisten, Berlin, privately issued, 1906 - matte collodion photographic prints on gilt-edged cabinet-size cards, 6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches, and collotypes of the same persons on embossed cards, 10 x 7 inches) were purchased by Miller from John Finn, of Essex, in July 1920.

Condition: Good condition, though image appears slightly yellowed, and card mount is curved.

The Dayton C. Miller collection in the Library of Congress, contains nearly 1,700 flutes and other wind instruments, statuary, iconography, books, music, trade catalogs, tutors, patents, and other materials mostly related to the flute. It includes both Western and non-Western examples of flutes from around the world, with at least 460 European and American instrument makers represented. Items in the collection date from the 16th to the 20th century.