The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Karl Blind Collection circa 1870
© 2016 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Blind, Karl. Collection |
|---|---|
| Dates: | circa 1870 |
| Size: | 0.25 linear feet (1 box) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Karl Blind (1826 –1907) was a German-born revolutionary and author. This collection contains six letters written by Blind in 1870, mostly to a Mr. Dixon. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Blind, Karl. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Karl Blind was born on September 4, 1826 in Mannheim, Germany. He is best known for his revolutionist writings on politics, history, and German literature. In 1848, Blind married Friederike Cohen (née Ettlinger). At that time, Blind became step-father to Ferdinand Cohen-Blind, attempted assassin of Otto von Bismark, and Mathilde Blind, a German-born British poet. After participating in the German Revolutions of 1848-49, Blind joined a band of liberals which invaded Southern Germany. He was captured and sentenced to eight years in prison, but was released after only eight months by revolutionaries. After his release, he was sent to Paris as an envoy of the provisional government of Baden. Once expelled from France, he traveled to Brussels, and finally arrived and settled in London. Blind remained there for many years while he continued his revolutionary writing. In 1866, perhaps as consequence of the suicide of his stepson, Blind’s writings became less revolutionary. Blind remained in London, and continued writing, until his death in London on May 31, 1907.
The Karl Blind Collection six letters organized chronologically. Five of the letters are addressed to Mr. Dixon and all are believed to have been written in 1870, though only one has a full date. Written on the back of one Dixon letter is also a short invitation from Friederike Blind, Karl’s wife, to Mrs. Dixon. The remaining letter is to an unknown recipient, possible the “Mr. Etienne” noted at the bottom of the page. The specific year for this letter is likewise unknown, but presumably it is near 1870 as well. The letters primarily discuss articles either written or reviewed by Blind. In one letter, Blind mentions his pleasure at finding an article receiving mention in the German publication, the Rheinische Zeitung, a paper most famously edited by Karl Marx.
The collection was previously part of the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Correspondence, circa 1870
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