KOTZEBUE AUGUST VON: (1761-1819) German Writer. Assassinated. A Dramatist who graduated and practiced as a lawyer in Weimar and also worked as Consul in Russia. Scarce A.L.S., `Kotzebue´, twice and in the third person, one page, 4to, Paris, 4<sup>th</sup> December 1803, to Mr. Perregaux, in French. Kotzebue states in full `Kotzebue prend la liberté de prier Mr. Perregaux de vouloir bien avoir la bonté de faire remettre au porteur le contenu de la lettre de change ci-incluse, et même vingt Louis de plus, sur la lettre de crédit pareillement jointe à ce billet. Avant son départ prochain Kotzebue ne manquera pas de venir lui-même présenter ses respects à Mr. Perregaux et le remercier de toutes ses bontés´ (Translation: `Kotzebue takes the liberty of requesting Mr. Perregaux to be good enough to deliver to the bearer the content of the bill of exchange enclosed, and also twenty Louis more on the letter of credit attached in the same way to this note. Before his next departure Kotzebue will not fail to come himself to present his respects to Mr. Perregaux and thank him for all his kindness´) Paper with a Vander Ley watermark. With blank integral leaf. G to VG

 

Kotzebue was murdered in 1819 by a militant member of the Burschenschaften, university student association, a theology student who accused Kotzebue of being an enemy of the German people for scoffing at the pretentions of free institutions in a journal article published in Weimar. This murder gave Prince Metternich the pretext to issue the Carlsbad decrees of 1819, which dissolved the Burschenschaften, imposing greater restrictions on universities and the press, restricting academic freedom in the states of the German Confederation.