1929 - 1936 EXTREMELY DETAILED HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL OF A BUSY AUSTRIAN ALPINE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER - HUNDREDS OF CANCELLATION STAMPS
797On offer is a most remarkable journal, handwritten in German, of an Austrian mountain climber spanning the years 1929 through 1936.
This busy mountain climber signed on the first page of the book: Ernst Pekar, Wien (Vienna), Member no. 10704 Gruppe Wien der Sektion Oesterr. Touristenklub des D.v. Oes.A. V.
His diary chronicles many dozens of climbs in intriguing locations. Interestingly, he initially documents his climbs in regular cursive script, and then switches to the German fraktur in 1936. This adds an interesting possibility of political influence on his handwriting.
He documented precise hiking routes, transit schedules, and environmental conditions. The entries focus heavily on logistical timestamps and trail progress, such as "Abfahrt Wien Südbhf." [Departure Vienna South Station] (22. Juni 1935) and "Abstieg zur Mattishütte" [Descent to Mattis Hut] (30. Juni 1935). The author also carefully recorded their trail breaks, like a "Rast von 5^00 - 5^20" [Rest from 5:00 - 5:20] (30. Juni 1935), alongside weather observations, noting when the "Wetter an beiden Tagen sehr schön" [Weather on both days very beautiful] (20. Juni 1935) or when they encountered "Nebeltreiben" [drifting fog] (30. Juni 1935) at higher elevations.
He also included approximately 240 cancellations from various Alpine lodgings and mountain tops, such as stamps of mountain lodgings in book, some by groups like Oesterreichischer Touristenklub, Oesterreichischer Gebirgsverein, Deutscher Alpen-Verein, Alpenvereinszweig Austria, and more. They chronicle the elevations and mountain, and some are beautifully decorated with Edelweiss.
The diary is rich in names of paths, meadows, huts, roads, stations along the way, mountain tops. The writer even kept times of how long every step of the way took. Some examples of experiences he chronicled:
- Grossvenediger 3660 m ("allein am Gipfel, Aussicht!!" [Alone at the top, View!!])
- Grossglockner 3792 m
- Schladminger Tauern
- Radstaetter Tauern
- Rax
- Hochkoenig
- Wechsel
- Hohe Wand
- Muntanitz, Dolomites (Italy)
- Ski trips he took, and much more...
In 1934 he went to a mountainclimbing school.
The entries abruptly end on June 7, 1936 with a trip to the Hohe Veitsch. Then, mysteriously, the very last cancellation in the book from the Oetscherhhaus 1418 m. It is dated in a different, modern hand and dated 20.8.1963.
This journal is an absolute wealth of information and references from the European Alpine mountainclimbing and hiking world of the 1930s.
Details:
Hardcover, 5'7" journal. Handwritten in pencil, German language. Most of the stamps are embedded into the entries, some are on loose small sheets. There are a total of 115 written pages, 228 cancellations within the book and 12 cancellations on loose pieces of paper tipped in.
Also included within the book are:
- four small black & white photographs. glued in
- Two pressed flowers (Buschwindroeschen)
- Three printed pamphlets (Ringwarte, Sparbacherhuette, Austria Nachrichten)
The inner hinge of the journal is cracked but the inner pages are G+.
Please don't hesitate to contact us for more information or to request photos. (Kindly include the SKU, listed on this page above the price, in your e-mail so we can more easily answer your questions.)
