Erich Maria Remarque

REMARQUE, Erich Maria (1898-1970). [Der Funke Leben.] Autograph manuscript with typed insertions [N.p., c.1952].

In German. Two bound volumes, comprising parts I-XV and XVI-XXV, 275 x 210mm; approx. 399 leaves total, mainly rectos; pencil on ruled paper with numerous typescript leaves inserted, annotations throughout (bindings heavily worn, covers detaching).

Annotated working manuscript for Remarque's powerful 1952 novel set during World War II in a German concentration camp. Heavily edited, each page includes insertions and deletions in Remarque's hand. Many pages have been renumbered and numerous typescript leaves inserted, giving a window to his creative process as he reordered and added material. Erich Maria Remarque was drafted into the German army during World War I, and would use his experience to write the best-selling masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front, published in 1928. When the Nazis came to power, Remarque left Germany for Switzerland; he lost his German citizenship, his books were burned, and his films banned. He emigrated to the United States in 1938 becoming a citizen in 1947. Der Funke Leben (Spark of Life, in English) is the story of 509, a political prisoner in a concentration camp toward the end of the war. Complete manuscripts by Remarque are uncommon at auction; the last sale recorded by ABPC was in 1995.