The previous - and presumably first - owner of this sheet, the art historian Perry T. Rathbone, became youngest ever museum director in the USA when he was appointed to the position at the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1940, aged only 29. In 1955, he became director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Following his early retirement from this post in 1972, he became head of Christie's offices in New York.
It is poignant to think that Rathbone, an important early supporter of the artist, once owned this impressive and charming woodcut. During his tenure in Saint Louis Rathbone was able to secure a teaching position at the Washington University in Saint Louis for Beckmann, which enabled him to leave Germany after the war. He also curated the first retrospective of the artist's work in the USA.
It seems reasonable to assume that Rathbone acquired the print directly from Beckmann around this time. Although the print is a numbered impression from the regular edition, the sheet bears various paint stains, which leads us to think that Beckmann had kept this impression in the studio before ultimately giving it to his patron.