Die Ballade vom Zuchthaus zu Reading. 1907/1963.
6 sheet Woodcuts.
Each signe. Monogrammed in the printing block. Partly belatedly dated and titled. Each one of very few known copies (between 4 and 10). On different types of paper. Sheet dimensions up to: 37 x 21.5 cm (14.5 x 8.4 in).
Contains: Zwei Gestalten, Der Gefangene, Der Richter, Verbrecher, Singende, Kruzifix.

Also included: Oscar Wilde “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” with twelve line etchings after woodcuts by Erich Heckel, Ernst Rathenau Verlag, New York 1963. With a personal dedication by Siddi Heckel. From an edition of 600 copies [EH/MH].

• Rare copies of the early woodcuts from 1907.
• The woodblocks were destroyed during the Second World War.
• Further prints from this series are in the Museum Folkwang, Essen, and the Rifkind Center, Los Angeles.

PROVENANCE: SHG 346 - Verbrecher:
Alfred and Thekla Hess Collection, Erfurt (with the collector's stamp on the reverse, Lugt 2796 a).
Wilhelm Arntz Collection, Haag in Upper Bavaria.
Galerie Ilse Schweinsteiger, Munich.
Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Würzburg (acquired from the above in 1990, with the collector's stamp on the reverse, Lugt 6032).
Amicable agreement between the above and the heirs of Alfred and Thekla Hess (2024).

The work is free from restitution claims. The offer is made subject to an amicable agreement with the heirs of Alfred and Thekla Hess on the basis of a fair and just solution.

EXHIBITION: Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landesmuseum, Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 1995-2001).
Kunstmuseum Moritzburg, Halle an der Saale (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2001-2017).
Buchheim Museum, Bernried (permanent loan from the Hermann Gerlinger Collection, 2017-2022).

LITERATURE: Annemarie and Wolf-Dieter Dube, Erich Heckel. Das graphische Werk, vol. 1: Holzschnitte, New York 1964, WVZ no. 122H, 123H, 124H, 125H, 126H, 131H.
Renate Ebner, Andreas Gabelmann, Erich Heckel. Catalogue raisonné of prints, vol. 1: 1903-1913, Munich 2021, no. 152H, 153H, 154H, 155H, 156H, 161H.
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Heinz Spielmann (ed.), Die Maler der Brücke. Sammlung Hermann Gerlinger, Stuttgart 1995, p. 417, SHG nos. 178, 179, 180 (illu.).
Hermann Gerlinger, Katja Schneider (eds.), Die Maler der Brücke. Inventory catalog Hermann Gerlinger Collection, Halle (Saale) 2005, p. 120, SHG no. 342- 348 (illu.).
Erich Heckel in a letter to Emil Nolde from March 17, 1907.

In good condition. Some of the woodcuts severely browned and with scattered brown stains in the margins. The sheets are free from tears.
The book is in very good condition.