[Op. 23, no. 1]. Zwei Quartette für 2 Violinen, Viola und Violoncell von Heinrich XXIV. j[üngerer] L[inie] Prinz Reuss. Op. 23. No. 1. G Moll... Stimmen Kr. 9,— / M 5,—. [Parts]

Wien: Commissions-Verlag von C. Schmidl & Co. [PN F. 4/5R.; C.4023/24 Sch.], 1908. Folio. Unbound. Original decorative green wrappers. Violino I.: 13, [i] (blank) pp.; Violino secondo: 13, [i] (blank) pp.; Viola: 13, [i] (blank) pp.; Violoncello: 10 pp. Transfer. Printed dedication to head of title: "Joseph Joachim, Carl Halir, Emanuel Wirth, Robert Hausmann in Freundschaft und Dankbarkeit zugeeignet."

Handstamp, "Rosa Wanner Wien Gentzgasse 146," to lower right corner of upper wrapper and upper left corner of first page of music of each part.

Upper wrapper attached to outer bifolium of Violino I with paper tape, torn and frayed at edges, with some loss to upper edge not affecting text; lower wrapper lacking. Uniform minor browning; some leaves partially detached and slightly frayed at edges. Rare. Not in WorldCat. 2 copies at the Staatsbibliothek Berlin (with printed errata list) and Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Cologne. Dated according to Schmidl plate number at IMSLP.

The publisher Carlo Schmidl (1859-1943) was based in Trieste, then under Habsburg rule. Schmidl's business was a division of Ricordi from 1902, who later sold to Universal-Edition. While IMSLP notes the existence of Schmidl editions with Vienna imprints, no statement is made about when Schmidl opened his office there. The present copy lists the old Trieste address together with a Leipzig address in smaller font below the the Vienna address. The alternate plate number with "F." and "R." seems to point to Ricordi. "C....Sch." stands for "Carlo Schmidl."

The house of Reuss was the ruling dynasty in two small sovereign states (Reuss the Elder Line and Reuss the Junior Line) within the present German state of Thuringia. It followed the unique practice, enshrined in law, of naming all its male members "Heinrich" with a number added. Despite the number, Heinrich XXIV, a member of the Junior Line, was never a ruling monarch. (Inventory #: 25932)